It was the world champion's first major drive in his new car

A minor oil leak failed to take the shine off what was the world champion's first serious drive in the new MP4-22 car since his move from Renault.

"We achieved our principal objectives with regard to how the car felt to drive. I felt comfortable," he said.

"We were working in a concentrated manner and attention was paid to every detail. Overall, it was really good."

Meanwhile, at Jerez, Alonso's former team Renault have continued putting their new R27 through its paces.

After Giancarlo Fisichella completed a full race distance on the first day, both Fisichella and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen drove the car in poor conditions.

"This is a brand new car, so to complete a full race distance on the first day, without any problems, is a very good achievement," said Fisichella.

"It means we are already in a strong position with reliability, although there is still a lot of work to do ahead of the first race. I have a nice feeling with the car, it has good potential."

Kovalainen was also impressed by his first taste of the new car.

"The characteristics are similar to the R26 but I can feel that we have improved in the areas we targeted during the winter," he said.