Raikkonen says start will be crucial

The Ferrari driver got his first pole of the season, and the 15th of his career, after beating local hero Fernando Alonso by less than a tenth of a second with a last-gasp effort.

The session was very close, with the top six in less than half a second.

Since 2007, the Spanish Grand Prix winner has started from first place on the grid.

Raikkonen said he was confident Ferrari will be strong in the race, but he reckons the start and the first corners will be vital.

"Qualifying is one part but tomorrow is where we get the points," said Raikkonen, who leads the championship after the first three races. "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."

The Finn admitted he was feeling more comfortable with his car after going in another direction with the set-up.

"We just changed the set-up quite a bit so it's easier to work," he added. "We wanted to try something in the test and we had a rainy day so didn't get a good idea, few laps in the dry gave me a good feeling we decided to keep it and so far so good."

"I've been more happy with the car than in previous races. We changed a bit the starting point and it seems to be working quite well.

"Of course it is a bit more tricky here but it is a nice circuit and they changed the outside in a few places so if you run wide it makes life a bit more difficult."