Post by REdBloodED woMan on Nov 2, 2008 12:27:56 GMT
Massa on pole for Brazilian Grand Prix
Local hero Felipe Massa of Ferrari grabbed pole for Sunday's championship showdown at the Brazilian Grand Prix with a dazzling lap in a dramatic and hotly-contested qualifying session.
Massa, who trails Lewis Hamilton by seven points in the title race, clocked a best time of one minute and 12.368 seconds in the third and final part of Saturday's session.
McLaren's Hamilton, who needs to finish in the top five to become the youngest and first black champion in F1 history, qualified fourth behind Massa, Italian Jarno Trulli in his Toyota and outgoing world champion Finn Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari.
Trulli split the two Ferraris with a dramatic last-gasp lap that forced Raikkonen down a place and wrecked the Italian team's hopes of an all-scarlet front row.
It was Massa's sixth pole position of the season, his third in succession at Interlagos and the 15th of his career.
Hamilton's team-mate, Finn Heikki Kovalainen, qualified fifth ahead of two times champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Renault.
German Sebastian Vettel was seventh for Toro Rosso ahead of compatriot Nick Heidfeld in a BMW Sauber, Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais in the second Toro Rosso and another German Timo Glock for Toyota.
On a warm, sunny day with vastly-improved conditions following Friday's cold and wet weather, the session began slowly with Nelson Piquet venturing out first in his Renault to give his compatriots something to cheer.
Once the real action began, there were roars of approval for Massa and boos for Hamilton as the big crowd packed into the basin-like arena of Interlagos revelled in the atmosphere.
Hamilton was quick to set a fastest time and the two Ferrari men, led by Massa had to wait until the final minutes to overhaul him. Massa's lap in 1:11.830 was the fastest of the weekend at that time.
Hamilton was obviously content to sit most of the session out and take third, but it was farewell to the five at the bottom with Japanese Kazuki Nakajima and his Williams team-mate German Nico Rosberg both eliminated along with the two Force India's of German Adrian Sutil and Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and Briton Jenson Button of Honda whose car stopped out on the circuit.
In the second part-session, the McLarens showed they were in command again when after Hamilton clocked his best effort in 1:11.856 to top the standings, he was beaten by his team-mate Kovalainen's 1:11.768.
Massa was third-fastest and stayed in the Ferrari garage as the young German tyro Sebastian Vettel flew to second for Toro Rosso in the final seconds, shifting Hamilton to third ahead of Massa.
This final flurry saw some shuffled places and out went Piquet, Australian Mark Webber of Red Bull and his team-mate Briton David Coulthard, who retires after Sunday's race, struggling Pole Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber and Rubens Barrichello of Honda.
This condemned the veteran Brazilian, Barrichello, who was born within a short walk of the Interlagos track, to a disappointing grid position in what could also be his final race if, as suspected, he is replaced at Honda next season by compatriot Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Ayrton Senna.
