Fernando Alonso has to start tomorrow's race from the third row: P5. The Spaniard says that he isn't disappointed though: "It's the same result as a week ago, so yet again today, we're neither surprised nor disappointed. It's true I did not do a perfect lap in Q3 and I'm happy to admit that, but I don't think I could have made it to the front row. "

He continued: "Third place was within our grasp and it would have been a great place from which to start the race, but others did better than us, including my team-mate who drove a nice lap: it's important that both our cars are in positions from which we can fight for a place on the podium. All the same, better fifth than fourth as it means at least I start from the clean side of the track. It seems that when it's time for Q3, Red Bull has a magic button that suddenly makes them go faster, but then it seems the button switches off in the race!"

"It's always very difficult to overtake here and I don't think DRS will change that much: maybe a good tow and a gust of wind will be of more use. We will try and move up a few places tomorrow: we will need to maintain a good pace, doing a perfect job at the pit stops, of which I think there will be a lot, maybe three or four, because tyre degradation is significant. It will also be important to get the timing of the stops right. I reckon anything could still happen: it will be a very open race."

Last year Fernando Alonso was second in the race.