Behind the red Ferrari cars, world champion Fernando Alonso got third place on his final lap to edge overall leader and McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton, setting up a close race for Sunday.

"It was a good result for the team," Raikkonen said. "I'm happy to be on pole."

It was a major comeback for Ferrari, which watched McLaren win at the Italian Grand Prix last Sunday.

"We're back in competition," Massa said.

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

Alonso used a late run, moving from 10th place to third, and beat Hamilton in 1:46.091 by a margin of .315 margin over his rookie teammate. Alonso is seeking his third title in a row.

The standings in the driver's championship are almost as close.

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

Raikkonen is third with 74 points. His pole position allows him an outside chance of winning the title.

After Spa, there are only three races remaining — in Japan, China and Brazil.

Alonso, who has been implicated in the highly publicized spy scandal involving Ferrari information, spun off with just five minutes to go in qualifying. He scrambled back to the pits and got back on track to put in one final fast lap.

"I lost control," Alonso said. "I had only one chance, one opportunity left. I was worried. It made the last lap very interesting. I am confident with my place."

In the spying scandal, McLaren was fined $100 million Thursday and was kicked out of the constructors' championship. The sport's governing body FIA published e-mails from Alonso on Friday that it said directly implicated him.