GRID POSITIONS 1 F Alonso 1:29.819 2 M Schumacher 1:30.028 3 F Massa 1:30.407 4 R Barrichello 1:30.754 5 K Raikkonen 1:30.933 6 J Button 1:30.940

World champion Fernando Alonso won a battle with Michael Schumacher for pole position at the European Grand Prix.

The Renault driver set a best lap of one minute 29.819 seconds to beat the Ferrari star by 0.209secs.

The two were well clear of Ferrari's Felipe Massa in third, with Honda's Rubens Barrichello in fourth.

Jenson Button had a disappointing run in his Honda and will line up sixth, beaten by team-mate Barrichello for the first time this year.

"It was a diffcult qualifying session. We just couldn't get a balance, which is not unusual for us around here," Button said.

"There's no excuses. We're just not on the same pace as the Ferraris and Renaults around here.

"I was struggling to get the tyres working on the first flying lap, which is unusual."

Alonso waited until virtually the last minute to push his Renault to its limits and take his first pole position of the season and the 10th of his career.

But the 24-year-old, who leads the championship by 15 points, was relieved to simply post a good time.

Nurburgring qualifying as it happened

"Qualifying is always stressful and difficult because you cannot make any mistakes in the first two sessions or you are out," said Alonso.

"We made some changes to the car overnight and did a good job in qualifying. There were no problems for us."

There was, however, further disappointment for his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, who failed to make it through to the final qualifying session for the second race in a row.

The Italian will start in 11th spot and after his elimination stormed down to the BMW Sauber pit to remonstrate with Jacques Villeneuve, who he felt had blocked him on his fastest lap.

Stewards later ruled that Villeneuve had impeded Fisichella, albeit not necessarily deliberately, and the Canadian was demoted one place to ninth.

I'm in the first row with a strong package, a good race pace and it should be interesting Ferrari's Michael Schumacher

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen used an upgraded V8 Mercedes engine for the first time in qualifying but could only finish down in fifth with 1:30.933.

The Finn led at the Nurburgring last season before he crashed out on the last lap but it seems likely that McLaren have opted to run with more fuel will try and counter pace with tactics.

The qualifying sessions were fraught, especially after a technical fault with the official timing screens raised a red flag in error and caused the opening session to be delayed with three minutes to go.

But Schumacher is anticipating an exciting race in front of his home fans.

A fantastic lap by Alonso, he should push hard and win the race From DC19 Have your say on Five Live

"The first run was not that clear and there were quite a few cars in front of me in the second," said the seven-time world champion.

"But I'm in the first row with a strong package, a good race pace and it should be interesting."

The Williams pair of Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg were not so lucky - both were handed 10-place penalites after their engines were changed before the sessions.

Webber's Cosworth engine developed a problem in practice and had to be replaced while Rosberg's car was fitted with a new unit as a precaution.

The punishment means Webber starts in 22nd spot with Rosberg two spots further back.

Scotsman David Coulthard goes in 12th for Red Bull while Toyota's Ralf Schumacher starts his 150th Grand Prix back in 10th spot.

Franck Montagny will begin his debut Grand Prix in 21st place after he failed to set a competitive time in qualifying for the Super Aguri team.

European Grand Prix qualifying times: