ISTANBUL, Aug 20: World championship challenger Kimi Raikkonen became the first Formula One pole sitter at the Istanbul Park circuit here Saturday when he finished fastest in qualifying for Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix.
The Finnish McLaren driver, who is chasing down a 26-point deficit on title race leader Fernando Alonso, of Renault, has seen his team dominate all weekend and he eased to a top time of 1:26.797.
In an error-strewn qualifying that saw half the field succumb to mistakes, Raikkonen made things look easy and finished with a 0.242-second advantage over second-placed Giancarlo Fisichella with Alonso in third.