Alonso looks to close the gap on leader Vettel

Fernando Alonso is often at his most dangerous when he is in a corner, and though he is currently 99 points behind championship leader Sebastian Vettel, the Spaniard may be beginning to supplant the McLaren drivers as the German's closest challenger.

He made no secret of his pleasure in finally earning a trophy in Valencia, nor his belief that Ferrari are moving back in the right direction.

"A podium here was a personal target, to get the trophy, to enjoy the champagne and the celebrations," he said. "I'm happy with the performance and the team are moving forward from a difficult start. Obviously the championship is not in our calculations at the moment. We need to do it race by race, and wait for some mistakes from Red Bull."