Alonso edges closer to historic title

Fernando Alonso is on the verge of creating Formula One history after taking pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.

The Renault driver will become the youngest world champion in F1 history if he finishes on the podium tomorrow and he took a giant stride towards that goal with a dominant display in qualifying.

The 24-year-old left world championship rival Kimi Raikkonen trailing, setting a best lap of one minute 11.988 seconds to claim his fifth pole position of the season.

McLaren driver Raikkonen, who needs to win to keep his slim title chances alive, made a mistake early in his lap and qualified down in fifth.

His team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya will give Alonso some stiff competition though from the outside of the front row after taking second place, with Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella third.

Jenson Button was again best of the rest, being beaten only by Renaults and Montoya’s McLaren on his way to fourth for BAR-Honda. The Englishman is looking to celebrate his long-term BAR contract with his eighth consecutive points finish.

David Coulthard suffered a difficult session and will start his quest for a first points finish in three races from 16th after being overshadowed by Red Bull team-mate Christian Klien, who took his best qualifying result since race one in Australia with sixth place.

Outgoing world champion Michael Schumacher was seventh with Toyota’s Jarno Trulli eighth.

Felipe Massa is the highest-placed Brazilian on the grid after Rubens Barrichello’s bid for a third consecutive pole at Interlagos ended in 10th place.

Sauber driver Massa, who will take Barrichello’s place at Ferrari next season, starts from ninth.

Takuma Sato will start from the back of the grid after opting not to complete a qualifying lap.

The Japanese driver, who this week was dropped by BAR-Honda for next season, was out early in qualifying as a result of his retirement in Belgium and would have incurred a 10-place penalty.

He was given the penalty for crashing into Schumacher at Spa-Francorchamps and with that in mind BAR called him straight into the pits before starting his flying lap, saving the Honda engine from unnecessary strain.

Local favourite Antonio Pizzonia was also in trouble two weeks ago, for running Montoya off the track late in the race, but he escaped with a fine.

The Williams driver, who is racing with a new helmet design featuring his daughter’s hand prints, was the first Brazilian out on track and set the 15th-fastest time.

Robert Doornbos’ qualifying effort came to a premature end when the Dutchman spun his Minardi at turn 12, ruining his lap and sending him straight into the pits.

Doornbos and his Minardi colleague Christijan Albers are used to fighting it out with Jordans for the back-of-the-grid spots, but Tiago Monteiro deserved special praise today for his qualifying effort.

The Portuguese driver, who scored an unexpected point in Belgium, outqualified both Williams drivers on his way to 13th.