Monte Carlo, Monaco ? Kimi Raikkonen took the lead in qualifying Saturday for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Raikkonen drove his McLaren-Mercedes around the 2.076-mile street circuit in 1 minute, 13.644 seconds. The second qualifying run is four hours before today’s race, with the combined times determining the starting grid.

“It is important to be (on the) pole or front row at any race, but here especially, because it’s nearly impossible to overtake anyone,” Raikkonen said. “You try to do everything to get there, and so far it is going well.”

Renault’s Fernando Alonso, winner of three races this season and runner-up to Raikkonen two weeks ago at the Spanish GP, was second in 1:14.125.

Ralf Schumacher caused a delay in qualifying after hitting the guard rail three times, severely damaging his Toyota. He lost a tire, had two barely hanging on and spilled debris across the track, stopping the session for 15 minutes. Schumacher will start in the back of the pack because of the accident.