Alonso downplays Button's 'no points' comments

Button had what he described as the "scariest 30 laps of my life" during the Spanish Grand Prix last Sunday, the Briton struggling with the handling of his car on his way to 16th position.

"After today, I don't think I expect points at all this year," he said. "But hopefully today was an off day. It didn't feel right."

Despite the attention those remarks got, Alonso reckons Button was simply frustrated after a difficult race. He believes the Briton does not seriously mean what he said.

"He must have his reasons," Alonso told Spanish daily Marca.

"It was a difficult weekend for us and when you are running at the back and you can't catch anyone there's frustration. But I don't think he meant it. It's just things you say after a race when you talk to the media for several hours.

"In the briefing with the engineers, I didn't feel that frustration and everything was back to normal."

The Spaniard, who retired from his home race and is yet to score points this year, insists McLaren is more positive about its situation than what many people believe.

"When we finish a race and we see that we are getting closer to the midfield cars, that we are close to the points, and that we were four seconds off the pace in Australia, we feel more optimism than what people see from the outside," he said.

"We are hoping for much more, but there are no miracles in Formula 1.

"You have to have patience. We have great engineers who have arrived from other teams, so all the pieces all now starting to fit. All the ideas are on the table, and some will come in June, others in September, others for Monaco."