Canadian GP: Alonso says mixed conditions hurt Ferrari

Having set the pace on Friday, Alonso was only able to manage sixth on the grid when rain affected most of qualifying.

"This year we saw in Monaco and here again that we are not super-competitive in intermediate conditions, and in cold conditions when we put dry tyres on it's even worse. Same for Lotus as well," said Alonso.

"Looking at the overall qualifying, it was not easy to get it right and very easy to get it wrong in conditions like that. We saw competitive cars going out in Q1. We saw Felipe [Massa] go into the wall.

"We still have the possibility to fight for everything tomorrow if we are fast enough in the race.

"It's still a little disappointment because we felt very competitive with the car and we start sixth. We need to get it back in the right direction tomorrow and score many points and show the car's potential."

Alonso believes the car characteristics that allow Ferrari to achieve good tyre life in the races mitigate against it in cold or damp weather.

"The car philosophy is about the heat in the tyres," he said.

"Some teams are able to get the tyre up to temperature very quickly, but then they struggle in the race because they destroy the tyres. It's a bit the opposite for Lotus and us.

"It's difficult to understand the reason but we are happy with our car."

He also felt strategic and driving errors were a factor in his qualifying result.

"We were in the pits when it was the perfect time [to run in Q3]," Alonso admitted.

"When I put the new tyres on for the second attempt, I locked up at Turn 10 and lost a lot of time there.

"It was partly my mistake that we're sixth."