Alonso welcomes 'fantastic' pole

The world champion completed a last-minute flying lap to emerge on top of the timesheets, beating Michael Schumacher's previous fastest time.

Alonso received more good news moments later when McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen demoted Schumacher to the second row of the grid.

Schumacher trails Alonso by 21 points after the first seven races of the season.

"First lap I had a little mistake in the last sector and then they told me on the radio that we were second just behind Michael for a close time so I thought maybe I lost pole with this mistake," said Alonso.

"But we had a second chance with the second set of tyres, I did a more normal lap with no mistakes.

"Four consecutive poles is a fantastic moment for us."

Alonso, looking to score his third consecutive win, believes consistency will be key to stay at the top tomorrow.

"It will be interesting to see the long runs, no one did more than five or six lap run this weekend so tomorrow will be question which is more consistent in the race," the Spaniard added.

"We have confidence in the race and a great strategy in our hands and thanks to our pole position it will come easier but tomorrow will be interesting."

Alonso's teammate Giancarlo Fisichella will start from fifth place.