MONACO, May 26: Fernando Alonso will start Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix from pole position with British team-mate and Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton alongside on an all-McLaren front row.

Brazilian Felipe Massa had to settle for third place for Ferrari with his run of three poles in a row ended by the Spanish double world champion who won in Monaco last year for Renault.

Ferrari had been on pole for the past six races but Alonso, with the 16th pole of his career and second in a row in Monaco, gave McLaren their first since Kimi Raikkonen at Monza in Italy last September.

Threatened rain held off after morning showers in a tense session that left the McLaren drivers, divided by two points at the top, well placed for their second one-two of the season.

“I think this year is a little more special regarding the weather conditions, that are not 100 percent sure either wet or dry,” said Alonso. “I think it could be a very difficult race and a little bit like a lottery for everybody.

“The race is so long that even pole position means nothing, probably,” he added.

Hamilton, just 22 years old and chasing his fifth podium finish in five races after becoming the youngest championship leader, was quickest until Alonso went faster with only seconds remaining.

“I think if you look at it, we're the quicker ones this weekend,” said Hamilton. “We've got a great car, the best car...so I have absolutely no worries going into the race.”

Raikkonen, now with Ferrari, will start 15th after damaging his car in the second session – a severe setback at a circuit notorious for the lack of overtaking possibilities.

The Finn is fourth in the championship, eight points adrift of Hamilton and five behind Massa, and needing to revive his title hopes after winning the Australian season-opener but retiring in Spain this month.

In a flashback to last year, when his predecessor Michael Schumacher caused a cheating furore by blocking the track at the penultimate Rascasse corner to secure pole before being demoted, Raikkonen halted at the same spot.

This time the Ferrari was genuinely stricken, with Raikkonen brushing the wall and bouncing hard over the kerb as he exited the Swimming Pool complex.

The Finn would have been 16th but Briton David Coulthard was punished for blocking Renault's Finn Heikki Kovalainen in the second session and demoted to last place in that group of qualifiers.

Schumacher finished fifth from the back of the grid last year and Raikkonen will be aiming for something similar while hoping for a clash of the McLarens.

Hamilton said that was unlikely.

“We respect each other and we're team mates, we want to do a good job,” he said. “We will go into that first corner probably not as aggressive as if we were going into it with a Ferrari.

“We will be conservative and see what happens. We're on different fuel strategies but similar pace.”

Renault's Italian Giancarlo Fisichella will start next to Massa, with Williams's German driver Nico Rosberg and Australian Mark Webber in a Red Bull behind them.

BMW Sauber's German driver Nick Heidfeld shared the fourth row with Polish team mate Robert Kubica.

Starting grid: 1. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren; 2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren; 3. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari; 4. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault; 5. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams-Toyota; 6. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull-Renault; 7. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber; 8. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber; 9. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda; 10. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda; 11. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Williams-Toyota; 12. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso-Ferrari; 13. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota; 14. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Renault; 15. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari; 16. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull-Renault; 17. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri-Honda; 18. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Ferrari; 19. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Spyker-Ferrari; 20. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota; 21. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri-Honda; 22. Christijan Albers (Netherlands) Spyker-Ferrari.—Reuters