Fernando Alonso has insisted that his performance in Friday's two practice sessions ahead of the Russian Grand Prix was down to the level of grip in Sochi.
The Spaniard, who is set to leave Ferrari at the end of the season, finished fourth in FP1 before going one better in the afternoon, and the two-time world champion has claimed that he felt at ease straight away.
He told reporters: "I felt comfortable right from the first lap and that helped a lot when it came to today's most important job, namely learning the track.
"We worked a lot on set-up and found the two compounds had behaved in similar fashion and tyre performance improved as the laps went by. The track is very hard on brakes, but that is a specific thing we can work on this evening to be well prepared for qualifying."
Alonso is currently fifth in the drivers' championship.
