New world champion Fernando Alonso led a Renault sweep of the top two spots in qualifying Saturday to give his team the edge heading into the constructors' championship-deciding Chinese Grand Prix.
It was the sixth pole position of the season for Alonso and ninth of his career, but the first time this season that Renault will dominate the front row of the starting grid.
Alonso, who clinched the drivers' title two races ago, posted a time of 1 minute, 34.080 seconds on the 5.451km Shanghai International Circuit to take pole after trailing Kimi Raikkonen through the four practice sessions.
PHOTO: EPA
"I am a little bit surprised to be on pole position but the car was perfect," Alonso said. "Everything here has been very positive all weekend. Tomorrow I am full of confidence for all the team."
Alonso's Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella was second fastest in 1:34.401, while Raikkonen, who made some small wiggles on his lap, had 1:34.488 for fourth.
"The car was not exactly perfect," Raikkonen said. "We had a little bit difficulty to get the tires working.
"For sure we knew before qualifying that maybe we wouldn't get the pole, but we are still ready to fight for the win,'' he said.
McLaren teammate Juan Pablo Montoya looked to have fourth spot on the grid before Jenson Button went out near the end of the session and posted 1:34.801 in a BAR-Honda.
McLaren and Renault are locked in a duel for the constructors' title at the Formula One season-ending Chinese GP. The order of the constructors' standings determines how much funding each team receives from the sport's governing body.
Renault leads McLaren by two points, 176-174, reversing the two-point advantage that McLaren held last week. The competition could go down to the last lap, just as Raikkonen passed Fisichella on the final circuit of last week's Japanese Grand Prix.
Heading into Sunday's 56-lap race, Raikkonen has seven victories this season compared to Alonso's six. McLarens have won the last six races with Raikkonen and Montoya splitting them three each.
Raikkonen and Montoya were 1-2 in both morning practice sessions with Alonso and Fisichella in third and fourth places.
RUNNING ON EMPTY
Formula One closes out its longest-ever season today in Shanghai after a 19-event global grind from March to October that has left teams exhausted and costs spiraling.
So the possibility of even more races next year isn't exactly thrilling the sport's 20 teams, most of whom say they'd prefer a lighter schedule.
"There's a point at which you've just got to take a more moral position and say, you are asking too much, and we are very close to that point," said Ron Dennis, head of the McLaren Mercedes team which is contending for the constructors title .
F1's calendar shows 20 dates for next year, although the final number won't be finalized until December. F1's agreement with teams allows for 16 races with a possible 17th. Any more and organizers must compensate teams.
The most likely addition is Cancun, Mexico, which has built a circuit and signed an agreement with F1 to hold races there.
Already this year's schedule has taken its toll on team morale, with "a lot of examples of people starting to say I just don't want to do this any more," said BAR-Honda chief executive Nick Fry.
The time and travel demands are particularly trying for people with families, with additional pay unable to compensate for time lost, Fry said. "I think 19 has been trying."
The schedule is particularly tough for smaller teams, which don't have as many people to spread around, said Red Bull director Christian Horner.
"This season has been a grueling season. There are a few tired looking people in the paddock," said Horner.
The rigors of a long schedule could be mitigated somewhat with careful scheduling, avoiding back-to-back races and allowing enough time for staff and drivers to return home, team leaders said.
Attendance at this year's Chinese GP is expected to be down by at least one-third from last year's inaugural event.
Just around 100,000 tickets have been sold for the race, down from about 150,000 last year, according to managers at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The fall in attendance appears to confirm predictions that Shanghai's second GP would suffer after race's novelty value wore off. While motor sports governing body FIA works hard to encourage Chinese interest in auto racing, the sport has a limited audience and can't yet compete with fan favorites such as table tennis and soccer.
Despite the disappointing sales, circuit general manger Yu Zhifei said more corporate sponsors had been attracted this year and all of the track's VIP hospitality suites had been sold.
MCLAREN'S MISSION
Having already lost out on the drivers championship, Kimi Raikkonen and his McLaren team face an uphill struggle to snatch the constructor's title from world champion Fernando Alonso and Renault.
Raikkonen will start from the second row of the grid after finishing third in Saturday's qualifying behind Alonso and Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella.
The Raikkonen teammate Juan Pablo Montoya finished in fifth place and will start one row further back.
Raikkonen was faster than Alonso over four rounds of practice, but lost precious fractions of a second when his car shimmied while cornering early in the race.
Still, the starting position wasn't fazing Raikkonen, who grabbed victory in the Japanese GP one week ago after starting 17th of 20 racers.
"We knew before qualifying that we would struggle to get pole position today, but I don't think we have anything to worry about," the Finn said.
"Both Juan Pablo and myself are in strong positions to get the results we need to win the constructors world championship," he said.
Renault leads McLaren by two points, 176-174, in the constructors race, reversing the two-point advantage that McLaren held last week. The competition could go down to the last lap, just as Raikkonen passed Fisichella on the final circuit of last week's Japanese Grand Prix.
Heading into Sunday's 56-lap race, Raikkonen has seven victories this season compared to Alonso's six. McLarens have won the last six races with Raikkonen and Montoya splitting them three each.
FERRARI FORTUNES
Michael Schumacher still has a shot at third place for the season after finishing sixth in Saturday's qualifying round for the Chinese GP.
Schumacher had a disastrous race in Shanghai last year, finishing a dismal 12th after starting from the pit lane. Those woes carried on into this season, leaving him with just one win at the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis, which was tainted by the withdrawal of seven of the 10 teams due to safety concerns over their tires.
Yet he still lies two points ahead of McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya, who will start one row ahead of him in fifth place on the grid.
"Given our strategy, we look to be in a good position for tomorrow," the seven-time world champion said.
Meanwhile, Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello won't be repeating his pole position start of last year at Shanghai in his final appearance for Ferrari. Barrichello led all the way to win last year's race but will find things much tougher this year after qualifying in eighth place.
"I'll give it my best shot to try and get the best result possible in my last race at the wheel of a Ferrari," said the Brazilian, who joins the Honda team next season.
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