Renault's Fernando Alonso takes pole position with a lap of one minute 13.698 seconds

World champion Michael Schumacher clocks a lap just 0.273 seconds slower to take second place

David Coulthard steers McLaren's new car to an impressive third place

Britain's Jenson Button guides his BAR to fourth place with another assured qualifying performance

Williams driver Marc Gene, racing in place of the injured Ralf Schumacher, qualifies in eighth place

Mark Webber climbs into his Jaguar before qualifying in 12th position