• Australian Grand Prix

Alonso praises Ferrari strategy

Fernando Alonso ran his tyres to the limit © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• Australian Grand Prix

• Championship:
• FIA Formula One World Championship

• Drivers:
• Fernando Alonso

• Teams:
• Ferrari

Fernando Alonso praised his team and the car after coming from the back of the field to finish fourth at the Australian Grand Prix.

Alonso banged wheels with Jenson Button heading into the first corner and then collided with Michael Schumacher, tipping his Ferrari into a spin and dropping him way down the order. From there he worked his way back through the field and preserved his soft tyres despite being in wheel-to-wheel battles with other drivers.

"I am pleased with this result," he said. "I got an awful start, because I had wheel spin on a white line and was last after the first corner following a collision with two other cars, so to finish fourth is very significant, especially given what happened to some other drivers, meaning we have increased our lead over some of our closest rivals in the title fight.

"Thanks to the strategy, we managed to get this result. The car was perfect and we were able to run a very long stint with the soft tyres. When I found myself behind Felipe, maybe I could have gone a bit quicker, but we know it's very hard to pass in Formula One and between team-mates, one should not take any unnecessary risks. If we had managed to get past Kubica, then it might have been a different story, but it wasn't possible, apart from the fact I also had to defend my position against Hamilton and Webber, who were on fresher tyres than us.

When asked if he thought the race had answered Formula One's critics after the Bahrain Grand Pris, he said: "For sure, after an exciting and action packed race like this, I don't think we'll hear much more talk about boring races!"

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.