Alonso happy with second place

Although the Spaniard appeared to have a car quick enough to fight for the win, the fuel problem in qualifying that left him too far down the grid effectively ruined his chance of victory.

But after making a great start to move from seventh to third by the first corner, Alonso was pretty pleased with the way his afternoon panned out.

"The car was good from the start," he said. "We tried to overtake people in the first corner and I braked late around the outside. It was a risk, but it was the only chance to overtake. I had to defend my position from (Mark) Webber there, but from then on my race was easier.

"Unfortunately yesterday we had this little problem in qualifying and I started too far back. Unfortunately, it was impossible to be close to pole position."

The World Champion's second place was enough to extend his lead at the head of the title chase - and he admitted that he was pretty happy with the way the campaign had started.

"The Renault has always been good here, and it was this year as well. The R26 will be competitive everywhere.

"This is the perfect start to the championship and 18 points in two races is what I dreamed of before Bahrain. In Australia I want to win the race to end this first part of the championship in the best way possible."