Cool!! - Alonso
The Spanish World Champion, Fernando Alonso delivered what his home crowd wanted this afternoon in Barcelona as he took pole position. Alonso will be joined on the front row by team mate at Renault, Giancarlo Fisichella.
"I know, it’s a fantastic atmosphere! I am delighted to be on pole, it’s fantastic. We all had a good time in qualifying and I think the supporters did as well. For them, Formula 1 is still a new sport and the atmosphere shows they are enjoying it!"
How did the session go?"The first part of qualifying was good, nothing to say. Then I was 4th in the second session and the times were very close. Everybody knows this circuit so well that it is hard to make a big difference. The third part was the easiest in the end, like last week at the Nürburgring. I have got my second consecutive pole so I can’t complain!"
Will Ferrari be the main threat tomorrow?"Yes, Michael will be very strong again this weekend, but we must focus on our job and our car. And we must be realistic: if sometimes the Ferrari is faster, then we must settle for second. But I don’t think it will be like that this weekend."
How was the car?"The balance was very good. We had to make some set-up changes after practice because there was too much oversteer, but they paid off and I was pleased in Q1. If we had got it wrong, there was no chance of getting pole!"
Honda and McLaren are a long way back. Can you write them off?"You cannot under-estimate anybody. We knew from yesterday that Ferrari would be the main rival, and that Honda and McLaren-Mercedes were a bit behind. But that is only a relative thing. Anything can happen in the race…"
So how are you feeling this afternoon?"I am excited about the race. 66 laps will not be enough to completely enjoy the spectators’ support! I wish it could last for weeks…"
