Spain: Qually – Our most successful this season

By Luke Marc Carlile-Stanton
May 13 2006

Fernando Alonso impressed his adoring fans with pole position for tomorrows Spanish Grand Prix, with Fisichella making it an all Renault front row. Toyota rounded off one of their most impressive qualifying sessions of the season, with Ralf and Jarno starting the race sixth and seventh respectively.

Knockout One

Ralf Schumacher was the first driver out on track, wasting no time with the session only a few seconds old. His first lap was relatively poor, a time of 1.20.567 was beaten by the Super Aguri driver of Takuma Sato moments later. Jarno Trulli quickly emerged with him soon going fastest with a 1.17.531, but he too would quickly move down with McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen now heading the time sheets. Red Bull Racing driver David Coulthard had a big off at turn three with 7.23 seconds to go in the session, bringing out the red flag. This also meant that Coulthard would start the race from the back of the grid. When the session restarted the big guns of Ferrari and Renault were the first to came out and once again like so many times this season putting Jarno and Ralf down the order. Needing to set a good lap to save themselves from the drop zone Jarno immediately reacted going fourth with four minutes to go leaving Ralf down in seventeenth. Ralf would also react, moving up into seventh with a couple of minutes to spare. At the end the two Toyota’s were safe, with the same not being said for Speed, Monteiro, Albers, Sato, Montagny and Coulthard who were all knocked out.

Top 6: Alonso, Fisichella, M.Schumacher, Button, Villeneuve, Trulli

Bottom 6 and knocked out: Speed, Monteiro, Albers, Sato, Montagny, Coulthard.

Knockout Two

As the second session began BMW-Sauber driver Jacques Villeneuve who would receive a penalty for an engine change was the first driver out on track. He set the first benchmark with a 1.16.349. Soon after Jarno Trulli went to the top with a 1.15.456, only to knocked off the top spot by ex-team mate and home crowd favourities Fernando Alonso. Ralf then moved into third, with all things looking very rosy for the Toyota camp. Giancarlo Fisichella had been knocked out in second phase of qualifying in the past two weekends, and was looking to end that misfortune by going fourth fastest. Then Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari emerged and easily went fastest, throwing down the gauntlet to Alonso but once gain pushing Jarno and Ralf closer to the drop zone with Ralf now tenth. Jarno put in a super effort to go second with two minutes to go with Ralf following to take fourth They would end third and sixth at the end of session, an impressive showing by Toyota. But the big scalp of the session was Columbian’s Juan Pablo Montoya who finished a very disappointing twelfth, in the drop zone and out of qualifying. Things weren’t looking too good for McLaren at this stage as Kimi could only manage ninth and hadn’t shown any similar pace to what Renault or Ferrari could do. Williams’ Mark Webber finished eleventh and for the first time not making in through into the final session. This left the, two Renault’s, two Ferrari’s, two Honda’s, two Toyota’s, Raikkonen McLaren and Nick Heidfeld in the BMW-Sauber to battle it out for pole.

Top 6: M.Schumacher, Fisichella, Trulli, Alonso, Button, R.Schumacher

Bottom 6 and Knocked out: Webber, Montoya, Rosberg, Villeneuve (loses a further 10 places), Klien, Liuzzi

Final Pole Shoot-Out

The first few minutes of the final session witnessed the what has become trademark fuel burn off with every car out on track. Fisichella set the fastest time early on with a 1.18.663, with Ralf in eighth and Jarno tenth. With ten minutes over, no one had set a really quick lap with Toyota at the bottom half of the top ten. Alonso blinked first coming into the pits with eight minutes to go to get ready for the final few minutes with Ferrari and Honda following suit. Michael Schumacher set a time of 1.15.8, the first real time of the session. But Fernando Alonso just blew him away with a great effort, a 1.14.8, putting the Ferrari in the shade. Massa went third, with Fisichella going into second, demoting Michael down into fourth. The drivers dived back into the pits to get ready for another shot at pole. Alonso who seemingly already had pole in the bag went back out and put in another stunner, a 1.14.648, Massa did a 1.15.4 but stayed third as Fisichella stayed second, but Michael was on a fantastic last lap stunner was fastest of anybody in sector one, but lost time in the middle sector and could on manage third at the end. The Toyota’s hadn’t featured at all in the session and a last lap gasp by Ralf Schumacher up to sixth, setting the same time as Rubens Barrichello who had taken fifth, with Jarno Trulli seventh ahead of Button and Raikkonen. BMW-Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld who like Toyota failed to feature in the pole position shoot out, finished tenth.

Top 10: Alonso, Fisichella, M.Schumacher, Massa, Barrichello, R.Schumacher, Trulli, Button, Raikkonen.

Notes

Jacques Villeneuve in the BMW-Sauber will take a ten place drop on the grid due to an engine change.