Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren-Mercedes claimed the pole for today's inaugural Turkish Grand Prix in an error-prone session that saw a half-dozen drivers slide off the new, twisting, dusty track.
Alongside will be Giancarlo Fisichella of Renault. His teammate and season-points leader, Fernando Alonso, who leads Raikkonen by 26 points in the season standings, heads the second row with Juan Pablo Montoya of McLaren alongside.
Jarno Trulli of Toyota and Nick Heidfeld of Williams-BMW will start from the third row.
PHOTO: EPA
It was Raikkonen's fifth pole this season and the eighth of his career. Raikkonen, who won the last race three weeks ago in Hungary, came out last in qualifying and clocked 1 minute, 26.797 seconds.
Raikkonen said the car set-up was changed after Friday practice, which made all the difference.
"We were quite confident, but on new circuits you really never know how it's going to be in qualifying because here it's quite dusty," Raikkonen said.
With two Renaults in the top three, Alonso seemed confident. He has won six times this season, with Raikkonen winning four.
"At the moment we are thinking to beat McLaren and beat Kimi," Alonso said. "We can do it sometimes -- sometimes, not. And the times we cannot do it, we have to think and still score points. Tomorrow we have a good chance with two Renaults in the top three."
Drivers struggled to stay on the 5.3km Istanbul Park track in Friday and Saturday practice. Qualifying was the same, run before a sparse crowd Saturday at the 130,000-capacity venue.
Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher of Ferrari failed to complete his lap after spinning out. Jacques Villeneuve of Sauber, the 1997 series champion, also spun off the track on his lap and failed to finish.
Both BAR-Honda drivers -- Jenson Button and Takuma Sato -- drove off the course and posted slow times. The car of Minardi's Robert Doornbos caught fire, and he also failed to post a time.
Asked why he went off, Schumacher replied: "I can't say exactly the reason. The wind was stronger. I took that into consideration, but maybe not enough."
"It is not really promising for tomorrow."
Raikkonen and Montoya were the quickest in yesterday's practice before qualifying. They were also among the quickest in Friday practice.
Schumacher was 14th in both practices yesterday, 1 1/2 seconds off behind the leaders.
It's unclear if passing will be easy on this new course. Tracks in Monaco and Hungary make passing almost impossible. Istanbul Park is a wide circuit with 14 turns -- eight left-handers and six to the right.
The position on the starting grid is critical in the 14th of 19 races this season. After 13, Alonso leads with 87 points, followed by Raikkonen (61), Schumacher (55), Trulli (36) and Montoya (34).
In this season's races, nobody has won starting from worse than No. 7 on the grid -- and that was Raikkonen in Canada.
In his four other starts from the pole this season, Raikkonen has won twice. He dropped out with mechanical problems in the two others. The Finn's two other victories came from starts in the first four rows.
Alonso has won the pole four times this season, and has won three times from that spot. In his three other victories, he has started somewhere in the first three rows.
Istanbul's counterclockwise circuit -- only one of three in F1 -- promises a few physical problems for drivers accustomed to more right than left.
"There are some fantastic corners and I think that, physically, it will be a hard race, especially on the neck muscles," Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello said.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely