Fernando Alonso aware of 2012 Ferrari car's flaws

Fernando Alonso has said that the new Ferrari car still needs improvement in aerodynamics and reliability ahead of the Formula 1 curtain-raiser in Australia.

The Spaniard set the fourth fastest time in Friday's tests in Jerez, trailing Romain Grosjean's Lotus-Renault by over four-hundredths of a second.

Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were also faster than Alonso; however, they were racing in 2011-specification Mercedes.

"Where will we be in Melbourne? No idea," the 30-year-old told Spanish daily sports newspaper Diario AS

"From what we have seen so far, the highlight of the car is that it heats up the tyres so that you can use them to the maximum from the first lap, which is something we could not do last season.

"We still have much to do in the area of the aerodynamics and, above all, the reliability. Unfortunately there are only two more tests, which is one less than last year. At the moment we are at maybe 20% of what we need to do overall."

The F1 calendar gets underway on March 18 at Albert Park, Melbourne.