Alonso loses control at first corner

Alonso was forced to tour around the rest of the lap, and was almost 20secs slower than pole man Michael Schumacher of Ferrari.

"Fernando was extremely unlucky," said Pat Symonds, Renault's executive director of engineering. "It appears there was a major electrical failure on his car as he started the timed lap, which effectively knocked out all the control systems. Without warning that this had happened, he lost control of the car as he exited the first chicane."

Alonso himself said: "I went into the first chicane as normal, but the car spun on the exit because the traction control was not working. As you would expect, I am disappointed, but tomorrow is another day. We know it is possible to score points starting from the back, so it's not over yet."

His team-mate Jarno Trulli was sixth fastest, but believes there is more to come tomorrow: "The car had the potential to be a bit quicker. I have got a good balance, and the new engine spec ran well - from the driver's seat, you can feel the difference. I am confident we can score points tomorrow."