BARCELONA, Spain, 14 May 2006 — World champion Fernando Alonso drove an enthusiastic Spanish crowd into a frenzy here yesterday by taking pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old Spaniard set a time of one minute 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.
“It was fantastic to see the crowd being so happy and I am really happy too.
“It was very important for me to get through equally two and into the top-ten section, but my lap was very nice and I hope to give the Spanish people a victory tomorrow.” Alonso hit the front with less than five minutes remaining in the top-ten shootout’ — 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 did his chances of closing the 13-point gap to Alonso in the world championship no help by qualifying third — alongside his Brazilian Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa.
Brazilian Rubens Barrichello continued his up-turn in form by qualifying fifth for Honda while German Ralf Schumacher was sixth for Toyota.
Australia’s Mark Webber was just four hundredths of a second away from making the cut-off point for the top-ten shootout’ in his Williams and will start 11th.
Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya was another surprise name to miss the cut in his McLaren — one place further back.
Germany’s Nico Rosberg in a Williams, Canadian Jacques Villeneuve in a BMW Sauber, Austrian Christian Klien in a Red Bull, and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi in a Toro Rosso, also missed the mark.
The opening 15-minute session was delayed by a red flag when Briton 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 American Scott Speed, driving a Toro Rosso, Portuguese driver Tiago Monteiro and his Dutch teammate Christijan Albers, both in Midlands, as well as Japanese driver Takuma Sato, and his French teammate Franck Montagny, both in Super Aguris.
