Fernando Alonso has played down talk of a rift between him and his team following comments he made to the media in the wake of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

In the aftermath of a race in which he did well to hold off Romain Grosjean for fifth, the Spaniard, when asked what he would be doing over the summer break, said that he would be "praying" for a faster car.

The two-time world champion, when subsequently asked what car he wanted for his birthday, was reported to have responded: "the one the others have".

The comments didn't go down well with company president Luca di Montezemolo who rebuked the driver leading to media speculation that the Spaniard might soon be parting company with the Maranello outfit. Montezemolo subsequently clarified his comments but still made it clear that in his opinion no individual is bigger than the team.

Speaking at Spa today, Alonso was keen to play down talk of a rift within the team.

"I think the wrong information was coming to the president," he told reporters, revealing that the team had subsequently replayed all his interviews and could find no such comment. "I tried to push for the best for the team and for our performance," he said.

He also pointed out following the race he gave news conferences in three different languages, Spanish, Italian and English. "I am from the north, so don't speak perfect Spanish," he added with a grin.

"I think the president is a very intelligent man to separate what is rumour and what can be true," he continued. "We have both been in F1 for many years now and we know what the summer break means in terms of rumours so there were never any questions. He is the man that helps all of us to keep our heads down, our feet on the ground and committed to the team."

The Spaniard admitted that being part of the Ferrari 'family' means the relationship is under constant scrutiny.

"The lesson is that anything we do, the repercussion of being in Ferrari or the repercussion of what Ferrari does is bigger than any other," he said. "This is the best team in the world.

Referring to claims that his manager, Luis Garcia Abad, had been seen in the Hungary paddock in conversation with Red Bull, Alonso said the conversation had been about Carlos Sainz Jnr. who is also managed by Abad.

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