0
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.
Grid:
1st row: 1. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) 1:26.797, 2. Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA) 1:27.039
2nd row: 3. Fernando Alonso (ESP) 1:27.050, 4. Juan Pablo Montoya (COL) 1:27.352
3rd row: 5. Jarno Trulli (ITA) 1:27.501, 6. Nick Heidfeld (GER) 1:27.929
4th row: 7. Mark Webber (AUS) 1:27.944, 8. Felipe Massa (BRA)1:28.419
5th row: 9. Ralf Schumacher (GER) 1:28.594, 10. Christian Klien (AUT)1:28.963
6th row: 11. Rubens Barrichello (BRA) 1:29.369, 12. David Coulthard (GBR) 1:29.764
7th row: 13. Jenson Button (GBR) 1:30.063, 14. Takuma Sato (JPN) 1:30.175
8th row: 15. Tiago Monteiro (POR) 1:30.710, 16. Christijan Albers (NED) 1:32.186
9th row: 17. Michael Schumacher (GER), 18. Jacques Villeneuve (CAN)
10th row: 19. Narain Karthikeyan (IND), 20. Robert Doornbos (NED).—AFP
