Alonso Confident of a Win

The Spaniard maintained his advantage from Saturday's first qualifying to just edge out the revitalised Michael Schumacher in the new Ferrari F2005 in the final session - and believed that his R25 was now well set to grab its third victory of the year.

"Obviously, today has been a difficult qualifying for everyone," said Alonso after qualifying. "It was the first lap of the day, with very windy conditions, stronger than yesterday and the track was also maybe a little bit dirty. So it was a good lap.

"I tried not to make any mistakes, that was the biggest worry I had before qualifying, and you know the lap was quite okay. It was not a fantastic lap but obviously very quick.

"Probably our strongest point, as I said yesterday, is the race and the long runs, not the qualifying lap, so if we finish on pole it is looking good for the race."

Despite his confidence for the race, Alonso was not expecting a straightforward afternoon of racing - especially with track and air temperatures likely to make the Bahrain race even hotter than Malaysia was two weeks ago.

That could mean tyre wear becomes the key consideration for drivers and opens up the possibility of a dramatic closing stage to the event as some drivers struggle with tyres that are in far from their best condition.

"This particular Grand Prix here in Bahrain, especially the first laps, will be very different to the last ones, because the track will be in much better condition," explained the world championship leader.

"But at the same time the tyres will be very hot, so with this windy conditions we have had today and yesterday we have to be very careful, especially at the end of the race, not to make any mistakes.

"It is a track that is difficult to gain time in the corners and very easy to make mistakes so we really have to concentrate here."