Mat Coch writes:

Fifth place in the Australian Grand Prix was the best Ferrari could have hoped for, says Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard spun out of qualifying and lined up in twelfth place on the grid, though still fared better than teammate Felipe Massa.

The Brazilian, who is under pressure to perform better than he did last season, was only capable of sixteenth in qualifying and failed to shine during the race. "The start was great, I passed many cars," he said. "It was very positive for the race but after five laps I was suffering with the rear tyres.

"Everybody was doing many laps with the soft, with the medium, I couldn't," he continued. "I was struggling completely with the balance."

Ultimately the race ended for the Brazilian with just a handful of laps remaining. A clash with countryman Bruno Senna eliminated the duo from the race and resulted in the pair being called in front of the stewards. Battling with Jean-Eric Vergne and pursued by Senna, Massa was wrong footed by the Toro Rosso driver, handing Senna an opportunity to attack.

"I was fighting with the other car and then he was able to have a good line to put the car on my side, around the outside, and then we both did the corner to the left," Massa explained. "I didn't know if he was trying to pass me from the outside and then he turned in a little bit too much…" It was a racing incident in the Brazilian's eyes, and also in the eyes of the stewards who felt no need to pursue it further.

Struggling with balance, Ferrari is working hard to understand the problems which have blighted Massa since winter testing. Team boss Stefano Domenicali stated the team will analyse the Australian race in an effort to help his driver get on top of the issues. "What is important is to really analyse everything in order to make sure there's nothing strange because that's a fundamental thing we need to do to help Felipe to make sure that he's performing without any extra pressure. He needs to be focussing on his driving and we need to help him on that."

By contrast Fernando Alonso's fifth place has been seen as more a reflection on the Spaniard's ability than the car itself. "I'm very happy with the result," he admitted after the race. "It was a tough weekend from Friday, in qualifying both cars out of Q3 was not the best result for us.

"Then in the race we did a good start, a good strategy. Being fifth just behind the two McLarens, two Red Bulls is for sure the best news from the weekend."

Alonso enjoyed an eventful race after gaining four places off the line. Battles with Vergne and Pastor Maldonado kept the former world champion honest, before the Williams driver spun on the final lap. "It was a shame after a fantastic race for him, fighting for fifth or sixth place to lose a position six corners from the end," he said. "At the same time I breathed because it was eight laps with a very close fight."

While the true pace of the Ferrari, and its competitors, is yet to be truly revealed it's clear the Italian team is not where it wants to be. "There are two fundamental issues; one of the speed and the other thing is maybe the traction," revealed Domenicali.

Alonso agreed. "For sure there is a lot of work in front of us in the next couple of weeks to improve the car. We were, let's say one second off the pace in qualifying yesterday. This is too much."

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