Alonso: Wins have boosted my motivation

With the Spaniard having proved Renault's ever-improving pace by putting his R28 on the second row of the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix, Alonso reckons that the proof of the team's changed attitude is that they are now disappointed not to make the top three.

"I think the team are more motivated now," said Alonso. "You feel in the mechanics, in the engineers - now a fourth place is not enough. Everybody wants more and more. This is very good.

"The guys were very, very late on Friday night and Saturday morning when the car felt not very good. They put back on Friday's setup. They work harder than ever now because they see some results, some success coming back. Everyone wants to contribute in this coming back. It is a good feeling.

"Being fourth, some of us are a little bit frustrated not to be in the press conference. It is very nice, and it changed a lot - four races ago fourth was almost worth champagne in the garage. Now fourth is a disappointment."

Alonso says he too feels better in the car, and much happier with the way things are progressing after a challenging start to the season.

"I am more confident," he said. "On Saturday morning we had some troubles. The car was not feeling great, and when I arrived in qualifying I was sure the car was fine. Maybe some races ago I was not confident, but we sorted out the problems.

"In qualifying I would arrive with some doubts, but here I arrived in qualifying full of confidence and I knew that if I could get into Q3 with the last set of tyres I could do a perfect lap. I was sure of that, and some races ago I was not sure of anything."