Massa claims Spanish GP pole ahead of Alonso

By Jens Marx May 12, 2007, 13:45 GMT

Barcelona - Felipe Massa stole the pole position for the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix from home hero Fernando Alonso on Saturday which gives him an excellent chance to win the race.

The Ferrari driver Massa got his third straight pole and sixth overall in 1 minute 21.421 seconds for the 4.655-kilometres lap on the Circuit de Catalunya.

Alonso trailed by the fraction of three hundredth of a second on 1:21.451, with Kimi Raikkonen third in the second Ferrari (1:21.723) and Lewis Hamilton fourth in the other McLaren (1:21.785).

Massa won the last race in Bahrain four weeks ago and he will also have confidence from the fact that the pole position holder has won the Spanish race each year since 2001.

Ferrari have monopolised the pole this year, with Raikkonen first in Australia and Massa dominating in Malaysia, Bahrain and Barcelona. Raikkonen went on to win in Australia and Massa in Bahrain, with Alonso and Hamilton getting a McLaren one-two in Malaysia.

Alonso, Hamilton and Raikkonen are tied for the championship lead with 22 points each from three of 17 races, with Massa following on 17 points.

Sunday's race over 66 laps promises another tight battle between the two teams.

'We have a really quick and great car. We have been very competitive with McLaren all weekend. I am looking forward to having a very important and competitive race,' said the Brazilian Massa.

With Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari pit for the first time since retiring last season, Massa posted the fast lap with time running out in the qualifying, beating a previous mark by Alonso.

The Spaniard was unable to reclaim first place on the grid and had to be content with the number 2 position in front of a massive home crowd.

'I am confident for tomorrow,' said Alonso, who won last year in Barcelona. 'The first row is confirmation that our car and package are competitive.

'It was the close fight (with McLaren) that we expected. The qualifying was confirmation how tight things are between Mclaren and Ferrari.'