Highlights - Button wins Australian Grand Prix (UK users only)

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso insists he was happy with a fourth-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix after suffering a poor start.

The Spaniard fell to last after a first-lap clash with McLaren's Jenson Button, but fought his way back up.

"I do not think at that time that I could do any more than that. I was super happy with fourth," he said.

The two-time champion leads the drivers' standings with a four-point advantage over team-mate Felipe Massa.

But Alonso admitted he had doubted he would have anything to show for his weekend's work after a collision with Button sent him spinning at the first corner of the race.

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"I was 22nd so I was not thinking about my team-mate at that moment, I was just thinking about scoring some points," he said.

"It was a fantastic result in the end for the team, and for myself as well.

"I prefer to start first and be bored until the end of the race, but it was an interesting race in terms of overtaking and in terms of battles."

Alonso made rapid progress up through the field until he caught Massa, but he insisted that, despite his apparent superior pace, he was content to follow the Brazilian home.

And he said that his charge may be a sign of that Ferrari hold an advantage over the rest of the pack ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix next weekend.

Australian GP driver news conference (UK only)

"The car was perfect and now there is the possibility that you can win the race even starting last because the car was so much quicker today than all the others," he said.

The 28-year-old, who is in his first season with Ferrari, earned team principal Stefano Domenicali's praise for resisting pressure from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton towards the end of the race.

"Fernando staged a fantastic climb through the field into fourth spot and might have got an even better result," he said.

"He was perfect when defending his position against Hamilton in the closing stages."

Massa, who had failed to finish five times in his previous seven Australian Grands Prix, was similarly content with his result despite failing to match the second place he secured in the season-opener in Bahrain.

"Given everything that happened today, rain at the start, the safety car, the switch to slick tyres when the track was still very slippery; we did a great job," he said.

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