Alonso: Strong result possible on Sunday

The Renault driver will start from sixth position and, with rivals Toyota outside the top ten, the Spaniard is hoping for a good result in the race to help his team close the gap.

"I am satisfied," admitted Alonso, whose team are ten points behind Toyota in the standings.

"We know that in normal conditions it's very difficult to finish in the top four and that to finish in fifth or sixth place is a good result. So that means that we have done a solid job today.

"We now have a real chance to get a strong result tomorrow, which is important for the championship. I'm quite confident."

Teammate Nelsinho Piquet qualified down in 13th place, the Brazilian left disappointed as he felt he had the speed to go into Q3.

"I'm disappointed not to make Q3 as I was in a position to be able to do that," Piquet said. "I was on the pace, but my final run in Q2 just wasn't enough to get me through to the top ten.

"I am now going to work with my engineers to be well prepared for the race tomorrow, and I will do my best to progress in the race and aim to finish in the points."