Raikkonen takes pole

After the Formula One spying scandal involving McLaren took center stage for two days, racing took again on Saturday.

Raikkonen, who won here when the Grand Prix was last contested in 2005, lapped the scenic 7.004-kilometer 4.325-mile track in 1 minute, 45.994 seconds, holding an edge of .017 seconds over Brazil8217;s Massa.

Behind them, the McLaren drivers were in just as tough a battle, with Alonso using a late run move from 10th place to third and beat Hamilton in 1:46.091, for a .315 margin over his rookie teammate.

The standings in the driver8217;s championship are almost as close.

After winning the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, Alonso is only three points behind Hamilton, 92-89, compared to a 14-point gap after the French Grand Prix on July 11.

Raikkonen is in third place with 74 points. His pole position kept him in with an outside chance of coming back and grab the title.

After Spa, there are only three races remaining8212;in Japan, China and Brazil.

Alonso is seeking his third title in a row. If that is not enough pressure, his involvement in the highly publicized spy scandal has added to it. It showed during the qualifying session when he spun off with just five minutes to go. He scrambled back to the pits and got back on track to put in one final fast lap.