Alonso Not Ruling Out Victory

Although the Renault driver could manage no better than fourth place on the grid, with Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen locking out the front row, he still believes that he has a chance of fighting for victory in the race.

"I am pretty pleased with the position," said Alonso, who set the fifth quickest time but gained a place after teammate Giancarlo Fisichella had to have an engine changed.

"We made some changes before qualifying to improve the balance, and that worked well. It was a clean lap, so now I am in a good position for tomorrow.

"Things seem closer between us and McLaren than they have been in the last few races, and although it will be very difficult to beat them, maybe it's not impossible.

"We need to concentrate on the race now, and do a perfect preparation to be able to fight at the front and keep the pressure on."

Alonso needs to outscore Raikkonen by four points in the race to clinch the World Championship with three races still to go.