F1: Raikkonen and Alonso to Share Front Row in Spain

Formula 1

F1: Raikkonen and Alonso to Share Front Row in Spain

Massa and Kubica on row two.

Kevin Krefting | Posted April 26, 2008 Barcelona, Spain

Kimi: second '08 pole. (LAT Photo)

Raikkonen celebrated his first '08 pole while Alonso posted his season-best qualifying performance. (LAT Photo)

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen took his first pole position of the 2008 Formula 1 season but it was Renault’s Fernando Alonso who made the headlines at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, as the Spaniard delighted his home country’s fans by surprisingly putting his R28 on the second position of the grid, his best start of the ’08 campaign.

The double world champion briefly held the top spot in the final segment of knockout qualifying, losing out on the last moment to Raikkonen’s chart-topping 1:21.813 by just 0.081. Bahrain GP winner Felipe Massa will line up third alongside BMW’s Robert Kubica, who himself took pole in the Middle Eastern race.

"Qualifying is one part but tomorrow is where we get the points," said Raikkonen. "Last year we couldn't finish the race. We should have good speed in the race as long as we get a good start. We are confident in ourselves. We need a good clean first few corners and then try to maximize our position. This is the best place to do our job."

Alonso’s performance hints at a crowd-pleasing light fuel load for the Spaniard, since his teammate Nelson Piquet, who posted similar lap times in the first two segments of knockout qualifying, had to settle for 10th in what was the Brazilian’s first-ever Q3 appearance.

"I think it was very exciting when I crossed the line because I knew the time was good," said Alonso. "I knew that only Kimi was running behind so when I crossed the line I knew it was front row in the worst case, so that is something we didn't expect at all, not in this race or maybe during the whole season, so I cannot be more happy than I am now. The car feels better. I am happy with the car and we made a step forward no doubts. We found more at the test when we compared the changes back-to-back and we saw here a clear result, a big improvement in the car."

Rounding out the top-five is McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who’ll have teammate Heikki Kovalainen by his side on row three. Red Bull’s Mark Webber and Toyota’s Jarno Trulli posted their typically strong qualifying performances to share row four, while BMW’s Nick Heidfeld was a somewhat disappointing ninth for the team that currently leads the constructor’s championship points table.

Spanish crowd goes wild with Alonso's surprising performance. (LAT Photo)

Honda’s Rubens Barrichello is tying this weekend Riccardo Patrese’s records for most GP appearances, and will start 11th – a good spot for the Brazilian to score his first points since 2006, as drivers outside Q3 usually extend their first fuel stint and are able to gain spots in the first round of pit stops. Kazuki Nakajima outqualified rated Williams teammate Nico Rosberg to post the 12th time, splitting the two Hondas as Jenson Button is 13th, ahead of Toyota’s Timo Glock. Rosberg is 15th, and Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais once again bested teammate Sebastian Vettel to take the final Q2 spot – a position he was set to improve on before making a mistake in his final flying lap with the debuting STR3 chassis.

Bourdais also managed to beat one of the cars of “parent” team Red Bull Racing, since David Coulthard was left stuck in Q1 with the 17th spot, one ahead of Vettel. The Force Indias of Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil and the struggling Super Aguris of Anthony Davidson and Takuma Sato occupy the last two rows.

Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying results:

1) Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:21.813
2) Alonso, Renault, 1:21.904
3) Massa, Ferrari, 1:22.058
4) Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:22.065
5) Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes, 1:22.096
6) Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes, 1:22.231
7) Webber, Red Bull-Renault, 1:22.429
8) Trulli, Toyota, 1:22.529
9) Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 1:22.542
10) Piquet, Renault, 1:22.699

11) Barrichello, Honda, 1:21.049
12) Nakajima, Williams-Toyota, 1:21.117
13) Button, Honda, 1:21.211
14) Glock, Toyota, 1:21.230
15) Rosberg, Williams-Toyota, 1:21.349
16) Bourdais, Toro Rosso-Ferrari, 1:21.724

17) Coulthard, Red Bull-Renault, 1:21.810
18) Vettel, Toro Rosso-Ferrari, 1:22.108
19) Fisichella, Force India-Ferrari, 1:22.516
20) Sutil, Force India-Ferrari, 1:23.224
21) Davidson, Super Aguri-Honda, 1:23.318
22) Sato, Super Aguri-Honda, 1:23.496