The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Fernando Alonso drives to his second pole of the season

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 09, 2007
ePaper

Sport

Sport - Racing : Motor

Fernando Alonso drives to his second pole of the season

Lewis Hamilton in second spot; Kimi Raikkonen crashes badly in practice

— Photo: AFP

WHAT A MESS: Kimi Raikkonen’s badly damaged Ferrari being driven away during the third practice session on Saturday. The Finn escaped unhurt after smashing into the barriers at a chicane.

MONZA: McLaren will start from the front at Sunday’s Italian GP after Fernando Alonso led teammate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying on Saturday.

The two-time defending champion Alonso went round the 5.793-kilometer circuit in 1 minute, 21.997 seconds to clinch his second pole position of the season.

Hamilton was second with 1:22.360, giving McLaren the top two starting spots for the fifth time in 13 races.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was third with 1:22.549, followed by BMW-Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld with 1:23.174.

“We’ve been quick all weekend,” said Alonso, who was also the fastest in practice. “Hopefully we can take that through to the race tomorrow.”

Kimi in fifth place

Massa’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who crashed in Saturday morning’s final practice session, could only manage fifth place with 1:23.183.

He was followed by BMW-Sauber’s Roberto Kubica with 1:23.446.

Completing the top 10 were Heikki Kovalainen for Renault, Williams’ Nico Rosberg, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Honda’s Jenson Button.

With five races left, Alonso, Hamilton, Massa and Raikkonen are separated by 16 points in the drivers’ standings.

Earlier, Raikkonen, who was runner-up in the race last year, slammed into the tyre wall in the third and final practice session, forcing him to qualify in the spare car.

As a result, he was unable to post a time under 1:22.00, despite being cheered on by Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and former team driver and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who watched from the pitlane.

Japanese drivers Sakon Yamamoto, who drives for Spkyer, and Takuma Sato, who drives for Super Aguri, both skidded off the track during the first qualifying session. Neither was injured, although Yamamoto was forced to pit, after damaging his front end. — Agencies

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail