Formula One: Alonso Rains on Schumacher Parade

Fernando Alonso's body language said everything about his fifteenth pole position, arguably one of the most psychologically important of his comparatively brief career in Formula One. As soon as qualifying had finished yesterday, the Spaniard climbed onto the nose of his car - usually an act reserved for the conclusion of a successful race - and clenched his fists while arching his back in mock defiance. The gesture may have been for the benefit of his team but it was no coincidence that Alonso had parked his Renault just behind Michael Schumacher's Ferrari.

The message was clear. Alonso and Renault may not have won a race since the Canadian Grand Prix in June, during which time Schumacher has won four races to close the championship gap to just two points, but rumours of the reigning champion's impending demise have been exaggerated. Alonso had dominated qualifying and, to complete his day, Giancarlo Fisichella had locked out the front row for Renault. This can only have compounded Schumacher's frustration with the sixth-fastest time at the end of a day that was difficult for everyone, particularly Ferrari.

The team offices, at a futuristic track costing £170m, have been built on stilts in a lake. The aim is to imitate Shanghai's Yu-yuan water gardens but, by the close of business yesterday, F1 people had more than their fair share of anything wet. Despite elaborate and costly weather forecasting systems, none of the teams had been prepared for 87 per cent humidity and the fine drizzle that cloaked the qualifying session in gloom and uncertainty.

Despite having been competitive when the track was dry, Schumacher and Ferrari knew that the conditions during qualifying would not suit their Bridgestone wet-weather tyres. It was only a typically skilful performance from Schumacher that lifted the Ferrari from the fifth row to the third on his last lap and put him several places ahead of the next Bridgestone runner. Just to add to their misery, Ferrari knew that Schumacher would be working alone after an unscheduled engine change had dropped the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa to the back of the grid.

'Our chances were damaged by the rain and sixth was the best I could do in these conditions,' said Schumacher. 'You could call it a damage-limitation operation. This qualifying session has not compromised my chances of winning the championship [for a record eighth time]. Apart from this race, there are two more to go [Japan next Sunday and Brazil on 22 October]. Everything is still possible.'

That same creed has been embraced by Renault following the setback of an engine failure for Alonso during the previous race at Monza.

'That came at the end of a tough month for us,' said Pat Symonds, Renault's director of engineering. 'We threw away a win in Hungary [when a wheel nut came off Alonso's car following a pit stop] and events transpired against us at Monza. Some people think Renault is a spent force in this championship but that's far from the case - as qualifying proved here. Having both cars on the front row is always particularly satisfying but, with the championship so delicately poised, it's an extra bonus. Our grid positions have given us the opportunity for a very good race but, above all, this weekend has shown that the Renault is very quick here, irrespective of weather conditions.

'Qualifying was particularly fraught, and the whole team is to be congratulated on a disciplined and faultless performance. There is plenty of pressure, and there's no point in denying it. We don't have any margin for error in these last three races, but that also makes our job a lot simpler. The only option is to race aggressively. Second places are no good at this stage of the season. And the same is true for Ferrari.'

Jenson Button was one of three drivers separating the Renaults from Schumacher on the grid, the Englishman's particularly smooth style paying dividends as he claimed fourth place with a time identical to one-thousandth of a second to that of his Honda team-mate, Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian, having been the first to set the time, took third on the grid, ahead of the Englishman.

Button has not been alone in his enthusiasm for the dramatic pace of life in the city of Shanghai but his views are not shared by Schumacher. The Shanghai Daily yesterday published an article questioning Schumacher's refusal to meet his fans and appear in public. Doubtless the story will have been brought to Alonso's attention as a sign of Schumacher's apparent dislike of China in general and, in particular, one of the few race tracks where Schumacher had not scored a single championship point during the previous two visits. A continuation of that theme this morning, coupled with the end of his rival's losing run, will have had Alonso dancing on top of his car as well as the championship.

Spyker, the Dutch sportscar company that recently bought the Midland (ex Jordan) team, has concluded a deal with Ferrari for the supply of engines in 2007. Ferrari had agreed to supply Red Bull but that is now in doubt.

How they line

1 F Alonso, Renault 1 44.360

2 G Fisichella, Renault 1:44.992

3 R Barrichello, Honda 1:45.503

4 J Button, Honda 1:45.503

5 K Raikkonen, McLaren 1:45.754

6 M Schumacher, Ferrari 1:45.775

7 P De La Rosa, McLaren 1:45.877

8 N Heidfeld, BMW 1:46.053

9 R Kubica, BMW 1:46.632

10 R Doornbos, Red Bull 1:48.021

11 S Speed, Toro Rosso 1:45.851

12 D Coulthard, Red Bull 1:45.968

13 F Massa, Ferrari 1:45.970

14 V Liuzzi, Toro Rosso 1:46.172

15 M Webber, Williams 1:46.413

16 N Rosberg, Williams 1:47.419

17 R Schumacher, Toyota 1:48.894

18 J Trulli, Toyota 1:49.098

19 T Monteiro, Spyker 1:49.903

20 T Sato, Super Aguri 1:50.326

21 S Yamamoto, Super Aguri 1:55.560

22 C Albers, Spyker Time disallowed