Raikkonen

INDIANAPOLIS -- Kimi Raikkonen might not have to win the U.S. Grand Prix to remain in the chase for the Formula One championship.

It would sure help, though.

Raikkonen won the second pole of his career Saturday, giving him the top position and a huge advantage for the start of the 73-lap race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"Of course it's a much better position, but the race is long. I still think we have a good strategy for the race, and I'm pretty sure we should have a strong race,'' said Raikkonen, who qualified his McLaren Mercedes in 1 minute, 11.670 seconds, or 130.839 mph over the 2.605-mile run.

Defending race winner Rubens Barrichello was second-fastest at 130.612.

Five-time series champion Michael Schumacher, Barrichello's Ferrari teammate, leads Juan Pablo Montoya by three points and Raikkonen by seven with just two races left this season.

Schumacher qualified at 129.888 mph for seventh, giving him his first non-pole start in the four years since the race returned to Indianapolis.

"I'm not at all satisfied,'' Schumacher said. "We're not sure what went wrong, but we were sliding too much and had no grip.''

Schumacher has 82 points to Montoya's 79 and Raikkonen's 75. First place on Sunday is worth 10 points.

"We'll be interested to see what strategies the others adopt for the race,'' Schumacher said. "For us, it's important to understand what went wrong. Hopefully, by the end of the race, we can give the fans something to cheer about.''

If Raikkonen wins, he would cut at least two points off Schumacher's lead; Raikkonen could take the points lead if Schumacher finishes no higher than seventh and Montoya ends up no better than fourth.

The season ends Oct. 12 with the Japanese Grand Prix.

"The fact that my two championship contenders are a bit further down can only be good for the battle,'' Raikkonen said. "I think the session was exciting to watch for the fans around the world, and we want this race to be the same.''

Olivier Panis qualified third at 130.384 mph, Montoya was fourth at 130.333, and Ralf Schumacher, Montoya's Williams teammate and Michael's younger brother, was fifth at 130.098.

"We could have done a little bit better, but that's what we've got and I am still confident we will have a good race ahead of us,'' Montoya said.

The fast qualifying time surprised Raikkonen, who wasn't among the leaders in the two days of practice and had won only one other pole, at the European Grand Prix in Germany in June.

"We haven't got much running this weekend,'' he said. "It has been bad weather. I drove only half an hour yesterday and one session today. I wasn't very happy with the car at all yesterday or today, but we got it right for qualifying and had a normal, good lap, and it was enough.''

Barrichello won last year's race when Schumacher slowed on the final lap and let him pass, as a payback for a similar favor earlier in the season before Schumacher had clinched the championship.

"I was actually hoping for the pole,'' Barrichello said. "The car looked good for the whole time, the whole weekend. On the warmup, the times weren't as competitive as they were this morning, but it was still a good lap.''

Jarno Trulli, the fastest in the preliminary round of qualifications on Friday, damaged his Renault's suspension when he spun during the final warmup. He qualified at 129.223 mph for 10th place in the starting field.

"We had just the same car after the incident. But it was a struggle with the wind conditions here,'' Trulli said. "We lost lots of performance. We struggled to keep up with the changing conditions and it was difficult to drive.''