Alonso surprised by lack of speed

The Ferrari driver missed the cut to go into Q3 and will start from a disappointing 12th position.

Alonso said he did not expect to be so slow, despite his struggles in the first qualifying segment.

"I don't know [what happened]. I didn't think we were so slow," Alonso told Spanish television.

"We struggled in Q1, ninth and tenth, and then in Q2 we couldn't improve the time by much and we were out. By a tenth, but that's the way it is. We have to improve and we know it."

The Spaniard conceded he is facing a difficult race tomorrow, especially as he is starting from the dirty side of the track, which makes a big difference in Turkey.

"We've been practising starts from the clean and the dirty side and saw there's a difference of one position when you start from the dirty side," he said.

"When I crossed the line they told me I was 11th so I thought tomorrow at the start I would gain places, but from 12th I may even lose some positions, so it's going to be difficult.

"Let's hope we can improve and pick up as many points as possible tomorrow."