Motorsport: Massa on pole in Spain

BARCELONA - Ferrari's Felipe Massa dashed Fernando Alonso's hopes of pole position in his home Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday (local time).

The Brazilian lapped the Circuit de Catalunya three hundredths of a second quicker than McLaren's double world champion in the dying seconds of the final qualifying session.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third quickest and shares the second row with Alonso's team mate, British rookie Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton are all level at the top of the standings on 22 points with Hamilton the first driver in Formula One history to finish the first three races of his world championship career on the podium.

The pole was Massa's third in a row and sixth of his career. The Brazilian won the last race in Bahrain in April and is five points adrift of the leading trio.

- REUTERS