We must aim for the top 6 - Alonso

F1 Grand Prix, GP Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit

The double world champion and Renault F1 Team driver Fernando Alonso talks about qualifying and his approach to Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix. The Spaniard will start the Bahraini race from seventh position on the start grid.

"It was good, although I had a bit of a fright in Q1. I finished the session in 13th and that was not what I expected. There was so much traffic at the end of the session and it was easy to make a mistake and find yourself at risk of dropping out of qualifying. This afternoon some cars were on their first flying lap, others were on their second, while some were returning to the pits. It was quite difficult to cope. I guess it will be even more difficult on circuits like Monaco or Budapest, which are very short and have even less space."

"Yes, without a doubt. It would have been really difficult to have beaten Barrichello who was 0.4s faster. I think that all the cars in front of us are faster, regardless of the fuel load they are starting with."

"We must aim to finish in the top 6, but we will really have to concentrate and look out for the threat from the Ferraris as well as the Williams of Nico Rosberg behind us. If we make the slightest error, we will be out of the points and we cannot really afford to miss out on points again. Having said that, the position we are in this weekend represents a big step forward considering where we were at the start of the season."

"For sure, we saw that in Malaysia."

"Not necessarily. That's why we didn't use it last week in Shanghai. For a driver, it's difficult to know how much of an advantage you get from the system. The decision is made by the engineers who have simulations to help them decide."