Fernando Alonso played down the significance of his fifth-place finish at the United States Grand Prix.

The Spaniard gave McLaren their equal best result of the season, matching his performance from Monaco.

Alonso said there was still plenty of work to do for his team, who are sixth in the constructors' championship.

"Our result today is nice for motivation, so I'm happy with fifth," he said.

"But we gained a couple of positions because of other people going out, and our pace hasn't been great all weekend here, so we need to understand the reasons for that."

Alonso's team-mate Jenson Button finished ninth in a boost to McLaren ahead of the next round in Mexico.

The Brit said better qualifying sessions – he started 19th and Alonso 12th – needed to be the focus.

"For the rest of the season, it's important that we work on our Saturdays – trying not to make bad decisions and qualifying closer to the top 10, which means you have a lot more to fight with," Button said.

"Hopefully the next race in Mexico City will be a good one – I'm already excited about it – and hopefully we can get a good result there."