That seems to be the question on everyone’s lips as Fernando Alonso, Spanish home hero almost grabbed the pole position before being dethroned by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

There are rumours that Fernando might be running on a light fuel load or that he may be pushing the car too hard to impress home fans. The race tomorrow will clear the matter !

Whatever be the case, Fernando Alonso was pretty happy after the qualifying :

“I cannot be happier,”

“We have made a step forward no doubt.

“This second place is more than what we could have expected for the whole weekend, so the job here is nearly done.

“The team have made the first step in Barcelona and now we have aggressive plans to raise our level and I’m optimistic about them.” said Fernando Alonso

Kimi Raikkonen too looked pleased :

“I’ve been trying to get pole so it’s a nice feeling,” said the defending world champion.

“I’ve been happier with the car here than in previous races and we’ve changed the set-up quite a bit so this should give us a better chance on Sunday.”  Kimi Raikkonen said

Starting places for the 2008 formula one Spanish Grand Prix :

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1 min 21.813 secs
2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:21.904
3. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:22.058
4. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:22.065
5. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren - Mercedes 1:22.096
6. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren - Mercedes 1:22.231
7. Mark Webber (Aus) RedBull - Renault 1:22.429
8. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:22.529
9. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:22.542
10. Nelsinho Piquet (Brz) Renault 1:22.699
11. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:21.049
12. Kazuki Nakajima (Jap) Williams - Toyota 1:21.117
13. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:21.211
14. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:21.230
15. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams - Toyota 1:21.349
16. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:21.724
17. David Coulthard (GB) RedBull - Renault 1:21.810
18. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:22.108
19. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India - Ferrari 1:22.516
20. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India - Ferrari 1:23.224
21. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri - Honda 1:23.318
22. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri - Honda 1:23.496