Alonso wins duel as best 2008 teammate

(GMM) Fernando Alonso was the only driver on this year's formula one grid to outqualify his teammate on every occasion in 2008.

At all 18 grands prix this year, rookie Nelson Piquet lined up on the grid lower than the sister Renault, meaning his seat is in doubt for next season.

"It has been a tough season obviously but I am learning a lot and improving a lot and discovering a lot of new things," the Brazilian said.

When asked if he was confident of staying in F1 next year, he answered: "I think I have a good chance."

Behind Alonso's perfect qualifying achievement, Red Bull's Mark Webber outpaced his teammate David Coulthard 15 times on Saturday afternoons this year, while Toyota's Jarno Trulli dispensed with Timo Glock on 14 occasions.

Heikki Kovalainen's deficit to Lewis Hamilton was 13:5, but the Finn often carries more fuel in his McLaren in the decisive 'Q3' segment. At Ferrari, Felipe Massa saw off world champion Kimi Raikkonen 12:6.

Like Piquet, Honda's Rubens Barrichello is also fighting to retain his seat, but the Brazilian veteran actually outqualified his teammate Jenson Button on 10 occasions in 2008.

"And I can tell you, he is damn fast," said Barrichello of Button, insisting that he "deserves" a better Honda for 2009 following the poor single seaters of the past two seasons.

At Force India, Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella are tied at 9:9, while Nick Heidfeld (BMW), Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) and Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) all managed to outqualify their teammates only 5 times out of 18.