Sochi, Russia: Two weeks after his sarcastic comments on team radio during the Japanese Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso marked his 250th F1 race with an upbeat reaction after the Russian Grand Prix.
The two-time former world champion started alongside compatriot Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso on an all-Spanish back row.
He went on to finish 10th behind his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, but later lost one place for exceeding track limits during the race.
"A very positive weekend for us," he said, before learning later that he was to be given a five-seconds penalty.
"It is the first time we have both finished in the points so it is a nice result in a place where we did not think we could be competitive.
"It seems we are going in the right direction, making good progress. Hopefully we'll find some more performance in the USA.
"The car performed quite well in the race and we seemed to take care of the tyres more than the others. I'm happy with the weekend."
Alonso's penalty promoted Dutch teenager Max Verstappen of Toro Rosso to 10th place.
AFP
