Happy Alonso targeting 'big points'

The Spaniard had endured a difficult practice on Friday, finishing far from the top of the times in all sessions.

In qualifying, however, the Renault driver was among the strongest, finishing the day in fourth position, his best result since the Spanish Grand Prix.

"We have done very little running this weekend and there were still a lot of unknowns before qualifying," said Alonso.

"The car is still a bit sensitive and the track changes quickly here, and so I am very happy with my fourth place this afternoon - it's a good start to the weekend.

"The race is now totally open and that gives us the chance to score some big points tomorrow."

Teammate Nelsinho Piquet had another day to forget after finishing down in 15th place, nearly a second behind Alonso.

"It was quite a difficult session and the car had the pace to go through to Q1, but unfortunately I was not able to go any further than Q2," he said.

"I'm still struggling a bit with this track, which is new to me, and I haven't managed to get as much running as I would have liked. For the race tomorrow I will try and stay out of trouble, move forward and hopefully fight for some points."