Alonso leads all-McLaren front row

The McLarens had battled for supremacy throughout the qualifying hour, which remained dry despite a light shower shortly before the session.

Hamilton was comfortably fastest in Q1, with Alonso unable to get within four tenths of his teammate, but the positions were reversed in Q2, with Alonso emerging 0.048 seconds quicker.

Hamilton then held provisional pole early in Q3, but a slide at Loews and traffic in the tunnel meant he was unable to improve on his early time. Alonso then produced a 1:15.726 to deny his young teammate his first pole position.

Felipe Massa took third for Ferrari, but his teammate Kimi Raikkonen will start back on the eighth row after an error in the second segment.

Raikkonen clipped the inside barrier at the Swimming Pool exit on his first flying lap in Q2, breaking the Ferrari's right-front suspension.

He continued as far as Rascasse, but the damaged car could not make the corner and ended up parked in virtually the same place as Michael Schumacher had been in the infamous track blocking incident of the 2006 qualifying session.

Massa almost became trapped behind his teammate, before eventually squeezing through the gap between Raikkonen's car and the barrier. The Finn managed to reverse away from the Armco and got back to the pits, but the damage could not be repaired in time.

Giancarlo Fisichella took Renault's best grid spot of 2007 in fourth, with Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber doing likewise for Williams and Red Bull in fifth and sixth respectively. The BMWs will share row four, with Nick Heidfeld ahead.

David Coulthard made it through to the top ten, only for his Q2 times to be deleted as a punishment for blocking Heikki Kovalainen when on an out-lap near the end of the session.

The Red Bull driver was demoted to 16th on the grid, behind Raikkonen, while Kovalainen could only manage 14th.

Coulthard's penalty meant that both Hondas reached the top ten for the first time in 2007. Rubens Barrichello had already made the cut, pushing Jenson Button out of the top ten by 0.003 seconds before the stewards' decision allowed both in. They qualified ninth and 10th.

Vitantonio Liuzzi starred in Q1 with the fourth fastest time, and then achieved a season-best 12th on the grid in Q2, behind Williams' Alex Wurz, and ahead of Jarno Trulli. Toyota had a disastrous session, with Trulli only 14th and Ralf Schumacher failing to get beyond Q1. He will start 20th.

Morning practice pacesetter Adrian Sutil could not repeat his giant-killing performance in qualifying, but did manage to get off the back row, taking 19th. A hydraulic leak meant his Spyker teammate Christijan Albers was unable to set a time.

Both Super Aguris also departed in Q1, with Anthony Davidson 17th and Takuma Sato only 21st. Toro Rosso's Scott Speed was the other man eliminated early, and will start 18th.

* Coulthard was not allowed into Q3 by the stewards, after blocking Kovalainen in Q2