Massa stuns Hamilton with perfect final lap to snatch pole
Massa was slower than Hamilton in both practice sessions yesterday.
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Saturday, 27, Sep 2008 09:05
Felipe Massa put in a blistering final lap to snatch pole from Lewis Hamilton for tomorrow's Singapore grand prix.
The Ferrari driver had lost first place on the grid to title rival Hamilton in the dying minutes.
But the Brazilian, who trails Hamilton by one point in the drivers' championship, set a stunning lap of one minute 44.801 seconds. Massa set new benchmarks in all three sectors and finished a comfortable 0.664 seconds of the Briton.
Despite dominating yesterday's two practice sessions, Hamilton had made a shaky start and was down in tenth place after his second qualifying lap.
Reigning champion Kimi Raikkonen took third for Ferrari after surviving an early scare having been pushed into the elimination zone after the first stage.
Robert Kubica took fourth for BMW Sauber, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren, while BMW's Nick Heidfeld was sixth quickest.
Double world champion Fernando Alonso will start in 15th after his Renault cut out with a fuel problem before he could set a time in his second qualifying lap.
Meanwhile, Jenson Button finished 12th in qualifying for Honda while Red Bull driver David Coulthard will start in 14th for tomorrow's first-ever night race.