Fernando Alonso refused to be downcast after seeing his three-race winning run ended by Kimi Raikkonen in Spain.
SPANISH GRAND PRIX
1 K Raikkonen (McLaren)
2 F Alonso (Renault)
3 J Trulli (Toyota)
4 R Schumacher (Toyota)
5 G Fisichella (Renault)
6 M Webber (Williams)
7 J P Montoya (McLaren)
8 D Coulthard (Red Bull)
Alonso's second place on home turf took his points lead over Toyota's Jarno Trulli to 18, while world champion Michael Schumacher failed to finish.
"Second place here at home is like a victory for me. Eight points in the pocket again is a fantastic result for me and the team," said Alonso.
"I was thinking it was not possible to follow Kimi, he was too quick."
Alonso has finished on the podium in all five races this year.
But he admits the pace of the McLaren has given him and his Renault team plenty to think about before the next race in Monaco on 22 May.
"I think this was not too representative, this race," said Alonso.
"We will have problems to beat McLaren at the moment because they look very strong.
"But we are strong too. Giancarlo [Fisichella] set the fastest lap of the race so we are very close.
"We need to find something more in the next race. We will have some new bits in the car so we are totally confident we can still win races."