Fernando Alonso has described Ferrari's as a comfortable environment after his first day of testing with the Scuderia on Wednesday. The Spaniard easily topped the timesheets to ensure the Italian team remained quickest in Valencia, six tenths of a second faster than compatriot Pedro de la Rosa's Sauber.

With the field's three Spaniards in the top four positions in Valencia on Wednesday, the huge turnout of 36,400 was delighted with the final classification. "It was an important day for me, being in a Ferrari for the first time," Alonso explained to a large crowd of reporters.

"I think I maximised the use of the day, in terms of laps and time on the track, and I feel good. In the car I have many things to adjust to - the seat, the pedals, the steering wheel and even the helmet, which is a new brand for me. I've also never run with Brembo brakes, so that was a first for me as well.

"I had a good base in the car thanks to Felipe (Massa)'s job over the first two days; I think it was a really, really big help for me because I didn't lose time having to set up the car - I just concentrated on being comfortable because Felipe's setup was good enough to keep running with in the morning."

Fernando was also delighted with the massive amount of supporters at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, so much so that traffic jams trailed for over five and a half miles on nearby roads. "It's great," Alonso recognised. "It's not a holiday today, it's not a weekend, it's just a normal day of the week and so many people came here to support the team, to support me and to enjoy Formula 1.

"As I have repeated many times, it's unbelievable, the feeling here - the atmosphere, the passion from everybody. It's very nice to be in the garage and speak Italian with all of the mechanics. There's a sense of humour which is very similar to Spain's so I feel very, very good so far - I keep enjoying life!"

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