"I think we came here with some questions as to how Ferrari would perform...McLaren, us and I think Honda were not too competitive this weekend, to be honest," said the Spaniard after leading to the first pitstop.

"I started from pole position and I was controlling the race with the pace.

"I think today we saw the normal picture again, that we now need something more to win," added the 24-year-old, who has yet to win his home race.

"At Imola we were ready to fight, I think we were quicker than Ferrari during that race, but I think here it was a question of time -- when do they overtake us?"

While Alonso had reason to be happy, Italian team mate Giancarlo Fisichella was less so after starting 11th and finishing sixth.