The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Raikkonen edges Alonso for pole

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Raikkonen edges Alonso for pole

BARCELONA: Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari edged Renault’s Fernando Alonso on Saturday to take pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix. Raikkonen will start first on the grid for the 15th time on Sunday after going around in 1 minute, 21.813 seconds — just under one-tenth of a second faster than Alonso.

Raikkonen, the defending world champion who leads the championship standings and won the Malaysian GP, earned his first pole of the season. The last seven pole sitters have won at Barcelona, and only four have failed to win in 17 races here. “We have a good chance for tomorrow. It’s a good place to be,” said the Finn, who won here in 2005. “I’ve been more happy with the car than I have been in the previous races.”

Alonso, a two-time world champion, knew he was on the front row when he crossed the line with his time of 1:21.904, since Raikkonen was the only driver still to finish.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, who is coming off a victory at the Bahrain GP, will start from third after clocking 1:22.058 on his final lap. BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica, coming off his first pole at Bahrain, had Saturday’s fourth best qualifying time.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top five with a time of 1:22.096 to start one place ahead of Heikki Kovalainen. It is the first time since 1983 that four different drivers have held pole position at the season’s first four races.

The qualifying results: 1. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1 minute 21.813 seconds, 2. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1:21.904 3. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:22.058, 4. Robert Kubica, BMW-Sauber, 1:22.065, 5. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes, 1:22.096, 6. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes, 1:22.231, 7. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:22.429, 8. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 1:22.529, 9. Nick Heidfeld, BMW-Sauber, 1:22.542, 10. Nelson Piquet Jr., Renault, 1:22.699. — AP

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