Alonso says Renault needs to improve

"We did our maximum today," said Alonso after finishing in eighth position.

"The start of the race was not perfect and we lost a position which put me down to eighth. After that nothing unusual happened during the race and there were no retirements so we were eighth fastest and we finished eighth.

"We always aim to score points, but we only scored one point and so we need to improve at the next grand prix," added the Spaniard, who suffered from dehydration in the race after his drinking pump failed.

Team-mate Nelson Piquet finished outside the points in 10th position after charging from 15th on the grid.

Renault boss Flavio Briatore admitted the result was disappointing for the team.

"We had higher expectations for this weekend but sadly we have come away with only one point," he said. "Fernando did not have a good start and this compromised the rest of his race despite his best efforts.

"Nelson had an excellent race, moving up from 15th and driving aggressively and consistently. It's just a shame that he missed out on the points."