Alonso encouraged despite no podium

The Renault driver was running in third position but both him and his team decided on a last-lap gamble, putting on intermediate tyres in the hope of getting a better result.

The decision, however, did not help Alonso gain any places and the Spaniard had to settle for fourth position, losing third to Nick Heidfeld, who had switched to intermediates a lap earlier.

Despite missing out on a podium finish, Alonso was encouraged by his team's form.

"We finished fourth after a difficult race with plenty of incidents," said Alonso. "It's a good result for the team, especially for our position in the championship because our objective was to score some important points.

"We missed out on a podium today, but we have shown that we can be the third strongest team in the championship."

Brazilian Nelsinho Piquet endured another disappointing race after crashing out on lap 14.

"The plan was to run a one-stop strategy today and so my car was heavy on fuel," he said. "I made a good start and gained five places, which was encouraging, but there were still some damp patches on the circuit and I made a mistake.

"It's a shame because I'm sure we could have done something today. I want to remain positive and I'm now looking forward to Monza, where we tested last week. I hope we can have a strong race there."