Driving for Ferrari is like playing for United or Chelsea... we can perform badly but still win



Fernando Alonso likened Ferrari to Manchester United or Chelsea after springing a surprise in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.



Alonso was a disconsolate figure after qualifying at Melbourne's Albert Park, during which he slid into the gravel and finished up 12th on the grid.



With team-mate Felipe Massa four places behind, it was Ferrari's worst qualifying performance for 36 races since Malaysia in 2010, where bad weather caused problems.



Red alert: Alosno has compared racing for Ferrari to playing for United or Chelsea

However, Alonso produced a stirring drive to finish fifth, which suggested the team's race pace is far from as bad as during qualifying.



It means the Spaniard can now approach this weekend's second race of the year in Malaysia with a little more confidence, believing he conjured a good result from a bad performance.



'It was damage limitation in terms of the number of points we scored from the weekend,' Alonso said. 'From Friday it was a tough weekend, and with both cars out of Q2 on Saturday, that was a tough result.



'So to finish fifth behind the two McLarens and two Red Bulls was the best news we could have hoped for from the weekend.



'But we know there is a lot of work in front of us to improve the car because we were one second off the pace in qualifying. That is too much, so hopefully we can improve in the next couple of races, and very quickly.'



Solid start: Ferrari managed a fifth-place finish despite poor qualifying

When it was suggested to Alonso the car appeared to be completely different in the race to the one which took part in qualifying, he joked: 'It was definitely the same. The FIA didn't allow us to change anything!

'We were just very good in terms of preparation. We have enough experience and Ferrari is Ferrari.



'There may be cars quicker than us now, but it's like Manchester United or Chelsea who play badly for a game but still win 1-0.'



Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali was just grateful to come away from the weekend with a smattering of points to ease some of the pain felt following a wretched pre-season.



'The performance in the race was not what we saw in qualifying,' he said.



'And the performance in the first two stints of the race was then different to the final one, so we need to understand the real problems.



Looking forward: Alonso hopes the team can build heading to Malaysia

'Despite that, Fernando's race was very, very good. To finish fifth is something very important to us and gives us some points.

'Considering what I am expecting from the championship this year, it is vital whilst we have so many problems that we score points.

