Fernando Alonso’s second pole position of the season means he is now the driver with the best average starting position. He demotes Jenson Button, whose eighth position on tomorrow’s grid is his worst of the season so far.
Alonso and Button are the only two drivers to have made it to the final part of every qualifying session this year. Juan Pablo Montoya failed to do so for the first time today.
At the other end of the field, neither Midland F1 nor Super Aguri have yet had a driver progress beyond the first part of qualifying. Scott Speed has only done so once, whereas Toro Rosso team mate Vitantonio Liuzzi has made it five times – a crucial distinction between two teammates towards the back of the grid.
Qualifying 2006 – how far the drivers progressed
| Driver | Session 3 | Session 2 | Session 1 |
| Fernando Alonso | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Giancarlo Fisichella | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Juan Pablo Montoya | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Michael Schumacher | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Felipe Massa | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Ralf Schumacher | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Jarno Trulli | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Mark Webber | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Nico Rosberg | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Rubens Barrichello | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Jenson Button | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| David Coulthard | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Christian Klien | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Nick Heidfeld | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Jacques Villeneuve | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Tiago Monteiro | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Christijan Albers | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Vitantonio Liuzzi | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Scott Speed | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Takuma Sato | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Yuji Ide | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Franck Montagny | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Tags: f1 / formula one / grand prix / motor sport
