• Brazilian Grand Prix

Alonso pleased with 'perfection'

Fernando Alonso had the measure of the McLarens until having to run the medium tyre © Sutton Images

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• Report:
• Webber leads Red Bull one-two in Brazil
  

• Race:
• Brazilian Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Fernando Alonso

• Teams:
• Ferrari

Fernando Alonso said that Ferrari "did everything to perfection" during the Brazilian Grand Prix and that his fourth place was down to the strong performance of other teams.

Alonso started fifth but was soon up to fourth as he passed Lewis Hamilton in turn one. His car had the measure of the McLarens and Alonso also passed Button during the first stint with a strong move around the outside of Ferradura, but then lost out during the final stint as the Ferrari once again struggled on the harder compound of tyre. Despite slipping back behind Button, Alonso said that the team could have done no more.

"Yet another race in which we did everything to perfection, from the start to the strategy and the work of the team," Alonso said. "The final result is more down to the performance of the others than our own, because we could not have done more. Once again today, we got a very good start, putting a nice passing move on Button, but then, on the Medium tyres, we no longer had the speed to fend him off. I also had a problem with the DRS which would not activate: I was not fighting closely with other drivers, but it would certainly have helped me gain a few tenths while overtaking."

Alonso felt that the performance was a microcosm of the season, and that next year Ferrari will have to find "five or six tenths" of a second.

"This Grand Prix produced an accurate reflection of the season: we have almost always done our maximum, fighting for a podium finish in a car that was not as good as the top two. In terms of team work we grew a lot in 2011 and we must absolutely make this the starting point for a very different 2012.

"We need a car that is about five or six tenths quicker: achieving that won't be a walk in the park, but I have every confidence in our engineers and in a team that dominated the last decade in Formula 1 and holds every possible record in this sport. Let us not forget that I managed to get on the podium ten times and to score more points than last year. Losing out on third in the Drivers' Championship is definitely not a big problem: first place is the only one that really counts…"

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