BUDAPEST, Aug 5 (Reuters) - McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen snatched pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday after penalty-hit title contenders Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher failed to make the top 10.

Raikkonen, last year’s winner in Hungary, seized his second pole in a row in the final seconds to dash Brazilian Felipe Massa’s hopes of starting at the front for the first time in his Ferrari.

“I think we have a strong race car and I really think that we can win tomorrow,” said the Finn, whose last victory was in Japan last October. It was his 10th pole position in his 100th race.

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello was third for Honda and Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa fourth in a McLaren.

Renault’s world champion Alonso and Ferrari’s Schumacher failed to make the final cut after both went into the knockout qualifying with two second penalties to be added to their fastest laps. Ferrari’s seven-times champion Schumacher will start 11th, because Honda’s Jenson Button who clocked the fourth best time picked up a 10 place penalty for an engine change in final practice. Spaniard Alonso, who took his first win in Hungary in 2003, lines up behind in 15th place at a circuit where overtaking is a real challenge and where four of the last five winners have started on pole. Alonso leads the resurgent Schumacher, who has won the last three grands prix, by 11 points with six races remaining including Sunday. Schumacher was penalised for overtaking two cars under a red flag in Saturday’s final free practice while Alonso picked up his sanction for dangerous driving and ignoring a yellow flag on Friday.

Without the penalties, both would have been challenging for pole in the final session.

“I’m incredibly angry,” Schumacher told Germany’s RTL television. “If you look at the situation, it’s a bit difficult to explain. “I think it makes more sense if everyone would look exactly at a tape of the events and make their own opinion. That should help explain a thing or two. “But certainly, I have to blame myself.”

Renault and Ferrari have between them won all the races this year but qualifying opened up the real possibility of a change on Sunday. “It’s definitely my best chance of the season,” said Barrichello, a winner for Ferrari at the Hungaroring in 2002. Poland’s Robert Kubica, replacing Canadian Jacques Villeneuve at BMW Sauber, made a strong debut as his country’s first Formula One racer with ninth place and ahead of German team mate Nick Heidfeld.

AP via Yahoo

RESULTS:

P., No, Driver, Team, - Engine, Tyres, Times, Ave/Gaps

1. 3 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1′19″599 198.138 Km/h
2. 6 MASSA Ferrari B 1′19″886 197.426 Km/h
3. 11 BARRICHELLO Honda M 1′20″085 196.936 Km/h
4. 12 BUTTON Honda M 1′20″092 196.919 Km/h
5. 4 DE LA ROSA McLaren Mercedes M 1′20″117 196.857 Km/h
6. 9 WEBBER Williams Cosworth B 1′20″266 196.492 Km/h
7. 7 R.SCHUMACHER Toyota B 1′20″759 195.292 Km/h
8. 2 FISICHELLA Renault M 1′20″924 194.894 Km/h
9. 8 TRULLI Toyota B 1′21″132 194.394 Km/h
10. 17 KUBICA BMW Sauber M 1′22″049 192.222 Km/h
11. 16 HEIDFELD BMW Sauber M 1′20″623 195.622 Km/h
12. 5 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1′20″875 195.012 Km/h
13. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Ferrari M 1′20″890 194.976 Km/h
14. 15 KLIEN RedBull Ferrari M 1′21″207 194.215 Km/h
15. 1 ALONSO Renault M 1′21″364 193.840 Km/h
16. 18 MONTEIRO Midland Toyota B 1′23″767 188.279 Km/h
17. 20 LIUZZI Toro Rosso Cosw. M 1′22″068 192.177 Km/h
18. 10 ROSBERG Williams Cosworth B 1′22″084 192.140 Km/h
19. 21 SPEED Toro Rosso Cosw. M 1′22″317 191.596 Km/h
20. 22 SATO S. Aguri F1 Honda B 1′22″967 190.095 Km/h
21. 19 ALBERS Midland Toyota B 1′23″146 189.686 Km/h
22. 23 YAMAMOTO S. Aguri F1 Honda B 1′24″016 187.721 Km/h

Driver Quotes:

Kimi Raikkonen:

“That was a really good qualifying session and to come out with pole position is really great. The car has been quick all weekend, and I am confident that we have made an excellent choice with our Michelin tyres.” “I believe we have a very strong car for tomorrow, and I am looking forward to the race where we have every chance to win. The work we have done in testing has really made a difference and improved our package over the last two weekends.”

Felipe Massa:

“It was a good qualifying and it is always important to start from the front row. Maybe I could have been on pole, but I had a bit of traffic even from the moment I came out of pit lane on my out lap for my second timed run. That meant my tyres were not up to temperature, especially going into the first corner.” “Apart from that, I am happy with the package I have. We have worked well over the past two days, fine tuning the car and trying to get the most out of the Bridgestone tyres. I think that even on old tyres, I will be able to maintain a good pace and I will be out to get the best result possible.”

Rubens Barrichello:

“Well I’m very pleased with our result today. It was a great effort to finish in third position and also important to be starting from the clean side of the grid. The whole Honda team have made a huge effort in the last few weeks to turn our performance around and that work and progress is starting to show now.” “The car is competitive, we look to be consistent on race pace and the driveability is improving. I also think that we have made a good choice on our tyres so it’s looking good all round. I’m hoping for a great race tomorrow, it’s certainly my best chance of the year to have a good result.”

Michael Schumacher:

“I prefer not to go into a long explanation of what happened this morning. Everyone can form their own opinion, looking at the replay. I would rather just concentrate on preparing for tomorrow’s race as well as possible in these unfortunate circumstances.” “Eleventh place was the best I could hope for, taking into account the penalty given me by the Stewards. At least it means I start from the clean side of the track. I hope to make a good start and move up a few places and I will be trying to make the best of it tomorrow.”

Fernando Alonso:

“This was a really unusual qualifying session for me, but everything went well. It is a shame to have lost positions with the penalty, but now is the time to stop talking about it and look forward to making the most of the race. It hasn’t changed anything for me, apart from the starting position, but with Michael penalised as well we have not lost so much.” “We know the Renault is working well with the Michelin tyres because I was able to set competitive times, and I think it will be even better tomorrow. Nobody has really done any long runs at all yet this weekend, so it will be a learning experience for us all in the race. I have the feeling we will be quite strong thanks to the tyre consistency, so let’s keep our fingers crossed, stay positive and focused, and see what the race brings.”

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