Alonso leads Renault front row in Spain
World Champion Fernando Alonso drove an enthusiastic Spanish crowd into a frenzy on Saturday by taking pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix
Alonso set a time of 1:14.648 to beat his Italian teammate Giancarlo Fisichella by five hundredths of a second as Renault claimed the front two positions on the grid.
Alonso hit the front with less than five minutes remaining in the top-ten 'shoot-out' - prompting a huge roar from the massed Spanish crowd that packed the grandstand beside the start-finish straight.
He then went faster still in the dying seconds of the session.
Michael Schumacher, looking to score his third consecutive win, qualified third - alongside his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa.
Rubens Barrichello continued his up-turn in form by qualifying fifth for Honda while Ralf Schumacher was sixth for Toyota.
Williams' Mark Webber was agonisingly just four hundredths of a second away from making the cut-off point for the top-ten 'shoot-out' and will start 11th.
McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya was another surprise name to miss the cut in his McLaren - one place further back.
Williams' Nico Rosberg, BMW Sauber's Jacques Villeneuve, Red Bull's Christian Klien and Toro Rosso's Vitantonio Liuzzi also missed the mark.
The opening 15-minute session was delayed by a red flag when David Coulthard crashed his Red Bull heavily into the barriers at turn three - ensuring that he will start his 200th Grand Prix from the back of the grid.
Also eliminated from the running at that stage were Toro Rosso's Scott Speed, the Midlands of Tiago Monteiro and his Dutch teammate Christijan Albers, and the Super Aguris of Takuma Sato and Franck Montagny.
| Spain qualifying breakdown | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3 | |||||||||
| Pos | Driver | Team | Pos | Time | Lap | Pos | Time | Lap | Pos | Time | Lap | |
| 1. | Alonso | Renault | M | 1. | 1:15.816 | 3 | 4. | 1:15.124 | 3 | 1. | 1:14.648 | 16 |
| 2. | Fisichella | Renault | M | 2. | 1:16.046 | 3 | 2. | 1:14.766 | 6 | 2. | 1:14.709 | 16 |
| 3. | M.Schumacher | Ferrari | B | 3. | 1:16.049 | 5 | 1. | 1:14.637 | 3 | 3. | 1:14.970 | 16 |
| 4. | Massa | Ferrari | B | 11. | 1:16.359 | 4 | 7. | 1:15.245 | 3 | 4. | 1:15.442 | 15 |
| 5. | Barrichello | Honda | M | 9. | 1:16.266 | 5 | 8. | 1:15.258 | 3 | 5. | 1:15.885 | 15 |
| 6. | R.Schumacher | Toyota | B | 8. | 1:16.234 | 6 | 6. | 1:15.164 | 6 | 6. | 1:15.885 | 16 |
| 7. | Trulli | Toyota | B | 6. | 1:16.174 | 6 | 3. | 1:15.068 | 6 | 7. | 1:15.976 | 16 |
| 8. | Button | Honda | M | 4. | 1:16.054 | 5 | 5. | 1:15.150 | 3 | 8. | 1:16.008 | 16 |
| 9. | Raikkonen | McLaren | M | 12. | 1:16.613 | 3 | 9. | 1:15.422 | 3 | 9. | 1:16.015 | 16 |
| 10. | Heidfeld | BMW | M | 10. | 1:16.322 | 3 | 10. | 1:15.468 | 6 | 10. | 1:17.144 | 16 |
| 11. | Webber | Williams | B | 14. | 1:16.685 | 3 | 11. | 1:15.502 | 6 | |||
| 12. | Montoya | McLaren | M | 7. | 1:16.195 | 4 | 12. | 1:15.801 | 7 | |||
| 13. | Rosberg | Williams | B | 16. | 1:17.213 | 3 | 13. | 1:15.804 | 6 | |||
| 14. | Villeneuve * | BMW | M | 5. | 1:16.066 | 3 | 14. | 1:15.847 | 6 | |||
| 15. | Klien | Red Bull | M | 13. | 1:16.627 | 6 | 15. | 1:15.928 | 6 | |||
| 16. | Liuzzi | Toro Rosso | M | 15. | 1:17.105 | 7 | 16. | 1:16.661 | 7 | |||
| 17. | Speed | Toro Rosso | M | 17. | 1:17.361 | 8 | ||||||
| 18. | Monteiro | Midland | B | 18. | 1:17.702 | 6 | ||||||
| 19. | Albers | Midland | B | 19. | 1:18.024 | 7 | ||||||
| 20. | Sato | Super Aguri | B | 20. | 1:18.920 | 6 | ||||||
| 21. | Montagny | Super Aguri | B | 21. | 1:20.763 | 6 | ||||||
| 22. | Coulthard | Red Bull | M | 22. | No time | 2 | ||||||
* Will incur a penalty for engine change
Share Or Save This Story
Andy Priaulx set to leave DTM to switch to GT racing in 2014
Marc Marquez sets blistering pace in Valencia MotoGP test
Why the DTM doesn't need Britain anymore
Why Aston Martin must "take the positives" from its modest Japanese GP progress
Alonso: Suzuka driving challenge "gone" with 2026 F1 cars
What's next for Aston Martin and Honda after torrid start to F1 2026?
Eight shock Formula 1 team principal changes
The key moments in Renault's F1 history as it bids farewell
How Renault overcame early hiccups to prove its worth in F1
WRC Canary Islands: Ogier heads Toyota 1-2-3-4-5 after dominant Friday
Why Marquez can only "survive" in Spanish GP despite return to full fitness
What Apple TV’s F1® coverage delivers for fans in the U.S.
What other tracks should return to the F1 calendar? Our writers have their say
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments