Raikkonen snatches pole from Alonso

BARCELONA, Spain -- World champion Kimi Raikkonen snatched pole position from Fernando Alonso in the dying moments of a remarkable qualifying session for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

Alonso stunned and thrilled his home crowd at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya when he sat on provisional pole in his Renault after the clock had counted down to zero.

But with only one man on track behind him in Raikkonen, the Finn became the fourth different driver in four races this season to snatch pole ahead of the 66-lap race.

It is the first time since 1983 that four different drivers have held pole position in the season's first four races.

All season long to date Alonso has bemoaned the performance of his car as Renault have been a long way off the pace set by Ferrari, McLaren and BMW Sauber.

The Spaniard has previously slated his chances of a podium finish, never mind a race win, but in front of his home crowd he produced to send his army of fans into raptures.

"It's amazing to do this in front of my Spanish fans," said Alonso. "It's something we didn't expect. Not just in this race but for the whole season."

Alonso will start from second on the grid, missing out by 0.091seconds to Raikkonen's Ferrari who set a pole lap time of one minute 21.813 seconds.

Behind the duo on the second row of the grid come team-mate Felipe Massa and the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica, with Lewis Hamilton a lowly fifth, his worst position of the season.

Hamilton has McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen behind him in sixth, with the Red Bull of Mark Webber seventh and Jarno Trulli eighth in his Toyota.

BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld is ninth, with the second Renault of Nelson Piquet in the top 10 for the first time this season.

Unsurprisingly, Super Aguri duo Anthony Davidson and Takuma Sato will start at the rear of the field, albeit with a degree of consolation for Briton Davidson.

In what could be Super Aguri's last grand prix, Davidson at least outqualified his Japanese team-mate for the first time this year.

The future of the team, who are currently $100 million in debt, is set to be resolved at a meeting on Wednesday with engine suppliers Honda. E-mail to a friend