Alonso's McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton had looked set to claim pole but a hold up in the McLaren garage prevented him from recording a final flying lap.

Alonso, still only 26, possesses class and experience in bucket-loads and he used all his ability to take full advantage of Hamilton's misfortune and seal his place at the front of the grid.

It was the seventeenth pole position of his career yet surprisingly only his second this season after Monaco back in May.

Behind Alonso and Hamilton will be BMW Sauber's German Nick Heidfeld who was third in front of Finland's Kimi Raikkonen who qualified fourth for Ferrari.

German Nico Rosberg was fifth in the other BMW Sauber and will share the grid's third row with Ralf Schumacher.

BMW's Pole Robert Kubica will start from seventh ahead of Italian Giancarlo Fisichella in a Renault.

Jarno Trulli of Toyota and Red Bull's Australian Mark Webber complete the top ten.