Fernando Alonso was unimpressed with KERS

Fernando Alonso was unimpressed with the performance of his KERS system in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard's Renault was one of just seven cars fitted with the controversial new energy re-use technology in Melbourne.

"It was not very useful," he told Spain's AS sports newspaper. "In terms of lap time we knew it doesn't give us an advantage, but I used it when I was right behind Glock - without a KERS - and the truth is that it was no help at all."

"At this circuit there was no benefit," Alonso added. "But let's see what happens at tracks with very long straights, like Bahrain, or Monza."

However, Toyota's Timo Glock reported during the race that he was unable to pass Alonso's Renault because the Spaniard kept using his KERS system to reopen the gap between them.

"It was difficult to overtake," said Glock, whose car was not KERS-equipped in Australia.