Highlights - European GP qualifying

Ferrari star Fernando Alonso has said that the team need to keep improving after qualifying fourth for the European Grand Prix in Valencia.

Ferrari had anticipated a major step forward in Spain because of a new update package, but were unable to match the pace-setting Red Bulls.

"At this stage half a second off Red Bull is too much. We need to keep improving," said Alonso.

"We had high hopes with our new package, but everyone made a big step."

Two-time world champion Alonso claimed that fourth and fifth positions for himself and team-mate Felipe Massa represented "a fantastic result for the team.

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"It's been now many races since we were both in the top five, and we've been struggling. Hopefully we have a good opportunity to win points (in the race)."

Ferrari's upgrade for Valencia centred around their Red Bull-style blown diffuser , whereby the exhaust gases are routed through the car's rear diffuser and around the rear wheels to improve aerodynamics and increase grip, mainly on high-speed corners.

Alonso said that Ferrari failed to make the gains on the softer 'option' tyre that other teams enjoyed, but that he is confident of the team's pace on the harder 'prime' tyre, which they will run for the majority of the race.

Fernando Alonso claimed fourth on the grid for the European Grand Prix

"We were struggling a little bit with the soft," he said. "It's difficult to know the reasons. We feel more comfortable with the prime this weekend and were more competitive in first qualifying (using the prime).

"I think we have a competitive race pace. You saw yesterday we did a couple of laps on the soft tyre with no big problems and the prime, so we have high hopes. The podium remains a clear target."

Alonso also said he made "no mistakes", despite what appeared to be a scruffy hot lap on his final qualifying run, and several other similar laps through the course of practice and qualifying on Saturday.

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