Fernando Alonso has told his team that today's Malaysia Grand Prix has changed nothing, and that it is still on the back foot in terms of its rivals.

With the Spaniard only just making it into Q3 yesterday, and his teammate failing for the second successive race, Ferrari admitted that today's race would be all about damage limitation.

However, the intervention of the weather gods, combined with a masterly drive from the two-time champion, saw the Maranello outfit take a popular, if somewhat surprising victory.

Nonetheless, with his overalls still damp from the Champagne sprayed on the podium, Alonso sent out a warning to his team. "The win changes nothing, to be honest," he said. "We are in a position that we don't want to be, fighting to get into the final round of qualifying and then fighting to score some points.

"The goal in the first two races was not to lose many points to the leaders," he continued. "I think we did a job on the track but there is a lot of stuff coming to improve the car before China, Bahrain and Barcelona. This is the real job we have to do.

"I know the team is putting in a lot of effort. We trust each other a lot, we are very united and this win will make us very happy but it doesn't change our determination to improve the car and to keep winning."