Alonso Surprised by Qualifying Performance

Spaniard Fernando Alonso said he was surprised by his strong qualifying performance ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

"I am quite surprised to be fourth on the grid," said the Renault driver after qualifying. "We knew things would be very tight, and I managed to take advantage of that to get a place on the second row.

"The timed lap was quite difficult because the car was understeering in the first part of the lap, at the second chicane and the Lesmos, but then handling really well in the fast corners in the final sector.

"Overall, though, the balance of the car was good and I am pretty confident tomorrow. I think we can run an aggressive race and fight for a podium position as we had hoped."

Alonso qualified behind the two Ferraris of Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher and the Williams of Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya. The Spanish driver's teammate Jarno Trulli posted the ninth quickest time of the day, but was happy with his performance.

"I am really pleased with my qualifying performance," said Trulli. "I pushed to the limit and managed to put in a good lap. I still do not feel completely comfortable with the car, and it was nervous and difficult to drive on the lap, so I took a lot of risks and they paid off.

"The car is quite competitive here and from what we have seen so far, we should be consistent on the longer runs. I will definitely be aiming for a good points finish tomorrow."