Renault's Fernando Alonso will start today's Bahrain Grand Prix
from pole position.
The Spaniard consolidated his advantage from first qualifying,
eking out a cumulative margin of 0.455s to claim the top grid spot
for the second race in succession.
But the big news is that Michael Schumacher has usurped Jarno
Trulli from the other front-row slot, demonstrating that the new
Ferrari will immediately be a force to be reckoned with.
Schumacher lapped just 0.066s slower than Alonso in final
qualifying, and a battle royal is in prospect between the world
champion and the leading pretender to his crown.
For the first time this year, Trulli will not start from the front
row a testament to just how well he has been driving in the
Toyota this year.
The Italian looked on course to stay ahead of Schumacher through
the first two timing points of the lap, but the tenths ebbed away
in the final sector and he ended up 0.3s adrift of the
Ferrari.
The Williams duo of Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber will start fourth
and fifth, the Australian moving up a place at the expense of
Giancarlo Fisichella, who had an uncharacteristically scruffy lap
and tumbled to 10th.
Toyota's Ralf Schumacher was the big gainer in final qualifying,
vaulting from 11th in the overnight order to sixth on the grid by
virtue of the third fastest lap in this morning's session.
The increasingly assured Christian Klien will line up a career-best
seventh in the leading Red Bull entry after another impressive lap
that saw him outpace team-mate David Coulthard by almost two
seconds!
The Scot could not improve on his lowly 14th position from
yesterday and it's a fair bet he opted for a heavier fuel load in
the hope that sassy race strategy can go some way to making up for
his lack of outright speed.
McLaren sub Pedro de la Rosa did an excellent job to qualify
alongside Klien on the fourth row a place ahead of hotshoe
team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
The Spaniard has surprised many in the paddock with his raw pace
this weekend, and his 1m32.648s lap this morning was 0.3s quicker
than Raikkonen's and the fourth best of the session.
Jenson Button gained one place on his Saturday qualifying effort
and will start 11th, two spots in front of team-mate Takuma
Sato.
The BAR-Hondas were split by Felipe Massa, who didn't look as
comfortable as in first qualifying perhaps indicating that the
Sauber team has followed its traditional policy of filling the car
to the brim with fuel.
Bahrain GP grid
1. ALONSO Renault 3m01.902s
2. M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 3m02.357s
3. TRULLI Toyota 3m02.660s
4. HEIDFELD Williams 3m03.217s
5. WEBBER Williams 3m03.262s
6. R.SCHUMACHER Toyota 3m03.271s
7. KLIEN Red Bull 3m03.369s
8. DE LA ROSA McLaren 3m03.373s
9. RAIKKONEN McLaren 3m03.524s
10. FISICHELLA Renault 3m03.765s
11. BUTTON BAR 3m04.348s
12. MASSA Sauber 3m05.202s
13. SATO BAR 3m05.563s
14. COULTHARD Red Bull 3m05.844s
15. BARRICHELLO Ferrari 3m07.693s
16. VILLENEUVE Sauber 3m07.983s
17. MONTEIRO Jordan 3m09.428s
18. KARTHIKEYAN Jordan 3m10.143s
19. ALBERS Minardi 3m10.422s
20. FRIESACHER Minardi 3m11.261s
BARRICHELLO TO START FROM THE BACK
Last Updated: Sunday, 03, April, 2005, 11:21
Rubens Barrichello will start from the back of the grid in Bahrain
after his final qualifying session was blighted by more technical
gremlins with his Ferrari F2005.
The Brazilian was on course to move up from 15th on the overnight
grid before a slow final sector signalled that something was
amiss.
Upon crossing the finish line Barrichello pulled abruptly to a halt
and walked back to the pits on foot.
When the F2005 was returned to the Ferrari garage the mechanics
hurriedly investigated the rear end of the car and technical
director Ross Brawn later confirmed to reporters that the gearbox
was the culprit.
Barrichello was hit by a similar problem on Friday afternoon,
causing him to miss the entirety of yesterday's free practice to
preserve the rebuilt 'box.
Ferrari arranged for a new unit to be delivered from Maranello on a
private jet overnight, but the replacement proved equally
troublesome.
The team has had to put the old gearbox back in for the race, as
well as a new engine because of concerns over the high temperatures
it was subjected to.
Barrichello will go into this afternoon's race on a wing and a
prayer, having completed hardly any mileage all weekend in a car he
has only driven for a single day in testing at Mugello the week
before last.
