Formula One news

Raikkonen steals pole by narrowest of margins

Kimi Raikkonen stole pole position for the Italian Grand Prix from Michael Schumacher by just 0.002s in a thrilling climax for Saturday afternoon's qualifying session. Nick Heidfeld qualified third while Alonso ran into trouble and could only recover to fifth on the grid.

The first knockout session was red-flagged after five minutes when Super Aguri's Sakon Yamamoto suffered a tyre blow-out on the pit straight. After the Japanese driver recovered to the pits and marshals swept the circuit for debris, the session got back underway with Schumacher and Alonso fastest, split by just 0.036s. Liuzzi, Albers, Webber, Monteiro, Sato and Yamamoto were all eliminated in the first session.

The second shoot-out session saw Massa go fastest while Kubica and Raikkonen announced themselves as pole position contenders going second and third fastest. Trulli, Rosberg, Ralf Schuamcher, Coulthard, Speed and Klien were the next six drivers eliminated.

In the final knockout session Alonso lost control under braking for the first corner while trailing Michael Schumacher. Coasting back onto the track, the Spaniard also suffered a tyre blow out. He recovered to the pits where mechanics assessed damage the tyre carcass had caused and after a break got him back on track for a final scramble in the closing three minutes of the session.

The final second were thrilling as Alonso scraped over the line to get in one extra lap as Michael Schumacher jumped to the top of the timing sheets until Raikkonen - set to be a Ferrari driver next year - knocked Schumacher off the top spot by just 0.002s. Heidfeld clinched third for BMW ahead of Felipe Massa.

Fernando Alonso recovered to fifth, crucially for Ferrari behind Massa. Renault's dismal afternoon was compounded as Fisichella could do no better than tenth. 

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