The Finn, favourite for victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, edged out Williams’ Mark Webber in another enthralling qualifying run.

The leading pair were the standout drivers after posting times that were comfortably quicker than those of their rivals.

But despite the impressive results, the massive Spanish crowd weren’t overly impressed as their local hero, Renault’s Fernando Alonso, dropped to third position.

The biggest losers, however, were Toyota who started the morning with two drivers in the top five.

But by the end of the final qualifying runs Ralf Schumacher and provisional pole holder Jarno Trulli sat in a disappointing fifth and sixth respective positions.

The pairing couldn’t reproduce their Saturday pace and were half a second short of the benchmark times.

Renault’s Giacnarlo Fisichella moved up two positions to sixth, ahead of McLaren’s Juan Pablo Montoya, up five positions, to seventh.

Montoya was one of the session’s biggest movers despite recording a time well short of those set by the leaders.

The Colombian cause was aided by two men punished with engine-penalties and a sluggish Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), who dropped one position to eighth.

Drama was also provided by Jordan’s Tiago Monteiro when he finished his qualifying run with a bang.

The Portuguese pilot’s Toyota engine expired as he crossed the start/finish line pouring oil onto the circuit and smoke into the air.

Earlier engine problems saw Williams’ Nick Heidfeld and Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello elect not to complete a qualifying lap.

Overall the session provided the foundations for another interesting race.

Raikkonen is now the firm favourite for victory but question marks hang over both Webber and the two Toyotas.

Webber’s Williams was likely to be light on fuel meaning he will have to stop early while the Toyota’s are tipped to be running heavy meaning they might come back into the battle.

Alonso can’t be discounted but his Renault team admitted that their car may not have the raw speed to make a serious fight at the front.