Although the Spanish Renault driver set the fastest time of the session (1min:16.281s), three tenths faster than his Mclaren-Mercedes rival, the Finnish driver managed to capitalise on the half second advantage he held from the first session.

Mark Webber (BMW Williams) starts from third place on the grid after solid runs in both qualifying sessions, and the second Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella consolidated fourth place with a fine effort.

Further down the field an excellent lap from Jarno Trulli in the Panasonic Toyota saw him move up to fifth place on the grid, while Nick Heidfeld, in the second BMW Williams, will line up sixth.

Ferrari's poor 2005 form continues, with the cars looking short of grip in the hands of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, who could only manage eighth and tenth places on the grid respectively. Clearly a lot of work needs to be done before the package can challenge the top runners.

Following his first session crash, Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) opted not to run in this session, and will line up at the back of the grid alongside Juan-Pablo Montoya, who received a penalty from the stewards following the Saturday morning 'avoidable accident' scenario.

With Jenson Button serving the second of a two race ban for the BAR Honda team, British hopes rest with Monaco specialist David Coulthard in the Red Bull Racing RB1, resplendent this weekend in 'Star Wars' livery. Qualifying a creditable seventh with good runs in both sessions, DC could be in line for more points for the young team.

Team mate Tonio Liuzzi, in his third outing for the team and possibly standing down for Christian Klien from next race, starts 12th, over than a second slower than his vastly more experienced team leader.

Roles are reversed at Sauber, where 1997 World Champion Jaques Villeneuve is having a better weekend than recent races, qualifying in ninth place, two places and three-tenths up on team mate Felipe Massa.

The fight between F1 back-markers Jordan and Minardi has also turned this weekend, with perennial tail enders Minardi, driven by Cristijan Albers and a spectacular Patrick Friesacher, starting in 13th and 14th places, ahead of the Jordans of Monteiro and Monaco rookie Karthikeyan.

Strategy will be a defining factor in the race, with track position of utmost importance around the short and twisty Monaco street circuit, and passing notoriously difficult.

The pace of Alonso's Renault suggests he may be running lighter than his McLaren rival, and the position at the back of the grid of two fron runners, Ralf Schumacher and J-P Montoya, promises some interesting interpretations from the Toyota and McLaren camps.