Alonso 'very happy' despite problems

Qualifying could have gone far worse for Renault's championship leader, who suffered a rear right tyre failure during the final session and had to limp back to the pits with the clock ticking down.

Alonso managed to return to the pits, but the right side of his car was clearly damaged as a consequence of the puncture.

The Spaniard still qualified in fifth place.

"I'm very happy," admitted Alonso. "I think the car has worked very well and maybe without the problem I would have been close to them. I think we have a good strategy and things will be a lot better tomorrow, I hope."

Alonso's tyre failure came at the start of the third session, and his puncture was the second of the day following Sakon Yamamoto's in the first segment of qualifying.

The world champion said the cause for the punctures was probably debris from the support races.

"We hope it doesn't happen again," said Alonso. "I guess that's the big worry for the Michelin engineers. It also happened to Bridgestone with a Super Aguri and tomorrow, 54 laps, all 22 drivers will begin the race with some concerns.

"I think the problem is there are things on track. The Porsches raced ahead of us and it seems they left bits of car on the track, which is what causes punctures. I guess they'll sweep the track tonight and there will be no problems tomorrow."

Alonso's teammate Giancarlo Fisichella qualifying in a disappointing 10th position.