Alonso Confident for Qualifying

The Spaniard retired for the first time this season at the Canadian Grand Prix last weekend, when he made contact with a barrier and damaged his Renault.

His error not only robbed him of a podium finish, but will also mean he is handicapped by running early in tomorrow's qualifying session.

Alonso, however, feels confident of a strong showing following today's practice sessions, where he finished as ninth quickest.

"It was good. Obviously, a very slippery track on the first day here at Indianapolis," said Alonso. "I feel confident for tomorrow. We followed the program. We tested tires, which was the main priority today for Friday.

"I'm confident for tomorrow's qualifying."

His teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, on the other hand, did not sound too positive after struggling to find grip. Fisichella wound up 11th.

"The car felt very loose in both sessions today - we couldn't find the grip we needed to get a good balance, but still managed to do a lot of laps and to look carefully at the two different types of tyre," said the Italian.

"Our level of performance did not seem fantastic, but of course we don't know what fuel loads the other teams were running and how they approached the day. We need to find some answers in terms of the set-up, but this was a solid beginning to the weekend."