Alonso stays positive for the race

Spaniard Alonso, who took his first win in Hungary in 2003, will line up in 15th place at a circuit where overtaking is a real challenge and where four of the last five winners have started on pole.

Renault's world champion Alonso and Ferrari rival Michael Schumacher failed to make the final cut in qualifying after both went into the knockout qualifying with two-second penalties to be added to their fastest laps.

"This was a really unusual qualifying session for me, but everything went well," said Alonso. "It is a shame to have lost positions with the penalty, but now is the time to stop talking about it and look forward to making the most of the race.

"It hasn't changed anything for me, apart from the starting position, but with Michael penalised as well we have not lost so much.

"We know the Renault is working well with the Michelin tyres because I was able to set competitive times, and I think it will be even better tomorrow.

"Nobody has really done any long runs at all yet this weekend, so it will be a learning experience for us all in the race. I have the feeling we will be quite strong thanks to the tyre consistency, so let's keep our fingers crossed, stay positive and focused, and see what the race brings."

Alonso leads the resurgent Schumacher, who has won the last three Grands Prix, by 11 points with six races remaining including Sunday.

Alonso's teammate Giancarlo Fisichella completed a poor day for the French squad, finishing down in eighth position.

"We said yesterday that the grip level was very low out on the circuit and with the cool temperatures continuing today, it hasn't changed much," said Fisichella.

"The balance of the car on new tyres was a bit different in qualifying compared to practice and I struggled with low grip, but things felt much better when we had some fuel onboard in the final fuel-burning part of the session.

"In terms of my timed laps in third qualifying, I put in one solid lap then made some mistakes on the second one, so couldn't improve my time. But I am on the clean side of the track for the start, and feeling very positive for tomorrow - much more so than in the last few races.

"The car is getting better and better with every lap we do this weekend, so I am expecting a fun race."