Alonso says Ferrari were on the limit

Fernando Alonso admitted that fourth place was the limit of his ambitions in Sunday's German Grand Prix.

He said it was 'the maximum' that he and Ferrari expected in a tough 60-laps race run in torrid heat.

Team-mate Brazilian Felipe Massa retired after spinning off on lap three.

Alonso said: "The race was not too bad. We did a good 60 laps overall, but obviously not good enough for the podium.

"Lotus were very good, it surprised us how long they did in the first stint on the soft tyres.

"The strategy that we thought yesterday didn't pay off so much.

"We lost a podium in the first 20 laps where we weren't good enough."

Ferrari chose to start the race on medium-hard tyres and not to fight for a better grid position during the Q3 section of qualifying on Saturday.