Renault racer Fernando Alonso crossed the line in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix in seventh place, two positions up on his ninth placed grid position, however, as the Spaniard explained to the team’s official website, this move up the field was not due to any overtaking manoeuvres, instead it was because two drivers that had qualified ahead of him, Sebastian Vettel and Heikki Kovalainen, were forced into retirement.

That said however, he knows how important it is to secure points at every event and he did just that, even if he was hoping for more....

Fernando, were you satisfied with your weekend in Monaco?
The race was difficult, long, and challenging, as is always the case in Monaco. It was important not to lose concentration, not to make any mistakes and to push hard on every lap. I managed to do all of that, but when you've won this race in the past, you only have one aim - to win it again! So to finish seventh is not that satisfying.

So you're disappointed?
Yes and no. I started ninth and made up two positions thanks to our strategy and the retirements of Vettel and Kovalainen, so I cannot really complain. I think that finishing seventh is representative of our true level of performance at the moment. We've scored two points, which isn't a lot, but it's important to score points at each race so we can start fighting back in the championship.

Does that mean you will be aiming for a similar result in Turkey?
Not necessarily because the team is working hard to introduce some new developments to the R29 for Turkey. We could therefore take a step forward and perhaps make up some ground on our rivals. I remain convinced that we can have a strong second half of the season if things unfold as we expect them to. We just need to continue working hard, keep our expectations high and the results will follow.