Fernando Alonso said that he felt that the Alpine car was as competitive as it has ever been during the British Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Spaniard had a fine race with him starting P7 and ending up with good points, with a double points finish potentially on for the team before Esteban Ocon's retirement.

Even so, Alonso can be happy with a really strong result and speaking to the gathered press at Silverstone after the race, he felt as though the car was about as competitive as it has been all season, whilst also saying he's hopeful for more strong results in the weeks ahead:

"We were P5 and I was hoping two cars might touch each other and we'd be on the podium but in the end they raced really hard with a lot of respect and it was fun to watch from behind.

"I think the car was very good today. I felt more competitive than ever today, we were on the pace of Lando, the others are untouchable but we are quite ahead of the other midfield cars so it was a step forwards, I expect the next couple of weekends to be strong now."

Alonso has been driving really well this season but luck has evaded him at times this year, and so he perhaps does not have the points tally he deserves.

A few more drives like this one will change that, though, with the Alpine a contender for 'best of the rest' behind the Red Bulls, Ferraris and Mercedes cars at the moment.

Austria hosts the next round of the season, meanwhile, with that coming up quickly with the latest Sprint event of the year.