Alonso: Seventh the best possible result

The Renault driver, starting from ninth position, admitted that without the exit of Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen he would have been unlikely to score.

"It was the maximum we could do today," Alonso told Spanish network La Sexta. "Starting from ninth it was very complicated, and there were moments during the race when we were unable to push, with Fisichella in front and then some traffic by the end.

"We knew the ones in front were unreachable, and we have finished seventh because Kovalainen and Vettel crashed."

Although the Spaniard showed promising pace during some parts of the race, he conceded Renault's speed had not been good enough.

"When I could push the times were pretty good, but it hasn't been a great weekend in terms of speed," he said. "We haven't been quick enough in qualifying or the race so we have to improve for the next race in Turkey.

"We have a new front wing, and let's see if we can get a bit closer to the front with that."