Alonso frustrated by traffic problems

The Renault driver, currently leading the championship after a win and a second place, will start Sunday's race from third position after finishing behind Honda's Jenson Button and teammate Giancarlo Fisichella.

Alonso said BMW's Nick Heidfeld had made a mistake on his flying lap, costing him around half a second. The Spaniard finished 0.549 seconds behind Button.

Despite missing out on the front row, the world champion is still confident for Sunday.

"It is okay, maybe a little bit frustrating because I didn't manage to complete the lap," said Alonso. "I think Heidfeld was in front of me and he made a mistake at Turn 13 and I caught him in last two corners and I lost half a second in the last sector.

"But car performed well and I am happy with the balance. We should be extremely competitive."

Alonso finished around a tenth of a second behind teammate Fisichella, and the Spaniard is expecting a close battle with the Italian in the race.

"I think we should be similar," he said. "We'll see tomorrow but in the last couple of races there was not much difference and without this traffic problem we should make quite a similar laptime, so the strategies are not too different."