Fernando Alonso has called on his fans to respect his fellow drivers after Vitaly Petrov revealed the Spaniard's fans had defaced his official Facebook page with insults and abuse.

Alonso gesticulated wildly to Petrov after the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix because he felt the Renault driver had held him up as he was battling to get past and catch the leaders to keep his title hopes alive.

Petrov subsequently denounced Alonso's reaction as 'bad manners', leading to the abuse he received.

"Probably my fans didn't like some of his statements after Abu Dhabi," Alonso told Spanish radio Onda Cero. "We all have to think about what we say after a race, but I say to my fans to stay calm because we have lived together a spectacular year."

Alonso added that he was pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed such a margin of superiority over team-mate Felipe Massa in 2010.

"I think there was never such a difference between myself and my team-mate. This makes me happy, given the results I have had. My level of driving I think is at its best and I hope to continue like this next year."