Belgian GP: McLaren Saturday qualifying notes

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps from the second row of the grid. Fernando, who spun during his first attempt in the middle sector of the track and had ...

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps from the second row of the grid. Fernando, who spun during his first attempt in the middle sector of the track and had only one fast lap in the final part of qualifying, set a time of 1min46.091 and was third fastest. Lewis qualified fourth with 1min46.406.

Fernando Alonso:

"Everything went very smoothly for my final lap today, which was good as I was a little worried after I spun on my first attempt. Unfortunately at that moment the tyres just lost their grip and I could do nothing. I am pretty confident for the race even though the Ferrari's seem quick. This track is quite similar to Turkey so we expected them to be strong, but we have made some definite improvements since then, and it will not be an easy victory for them, that is for sure."

Lewis Hamilton:

"It was a decent qualifying for us and I think that we did a good job. The first session wasn't great, but I made some improvements to my driving and managed to find the time in the second session. I thought my final lap was really good, with no mistakes. It is always possible to win, and I am pretty confident that I have a strong strategy. We knew the Ferarris would be quick, and it will be an interesting race; anything can happen on the way down to the first corner and obviously there is a long straight where you can overtake."

Ron Dennis:

"A solid performance from both drivers despite a rare mistake from Fernando on his first run. Obviously we would prefer to occupy the first rather than the second row. The times are very close and we believe we have a strong strategy for tomorrow."

Norbert Haug:

"Fernando and Lewis put in good laps with Fernando qualifying third, less than a tenth of a second behind pole position. We know that we cannot be as dominant as we were in Monza at every track, but the race tomorrow may be a different story than today's qualifying result."

Chassis allocation
Fernando Alonso: MP4-22 06
Lewis Hamilton: MP4-22 01
T-car: MP4-22 03