Post Qualifying Press Conference

Raikkonen had enjoyed an advantage of five-tenths of a second heading into final qualifying but saw Alonso cut that margin down to less than one-tenth as Renault seemed to have the edge in the session.

But Raikkonen insisted that difference was all down to him taking a conservative approach to the lap, and he is confident that his McLaren is well set-up for this afternoon's race.

"I took it quite easy in the first part especially, and then I slid a bit wide on the last corner, but I think we are on a strong position right now," said Raikkonen.

Although part of the time difference between the Raikkonen and Alonso is almost certainly down to how each driver attacked the lap, the other likelihood is that the McLaren is filled to the brim with fuel.

Raikkonen added: "I think we are definitely in the best position we could be and, like I said, we don't know how much fuel the other cars have.

"I think we will have a very good race. The car was very good this morning, so I am very happy and I am looking forward to the race."