Massa storms to pole position for Malaysian grand prix
Saturday, 22 Mar 2008 09:43
Massa helped Ferrari claim a one-two in qualifying
Ferrari's Felipe Massa has claimed pole position for the Malaysian grand prix ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
McLaren duo Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton occupy the second row of the grid, with the Finn ahead of the Briton.
The Ferraris had shown good pace all weekend and they continued their dominance during qualifying – the newly-relayed surface in Sepang appearing to suit their cars best.
Massa lapped the circuit in a time of 1 minute 35.748 seconds, nearly half a second quicker than Raikkonen, while the McLarens were almost a full second slower still.
Raikkonen set the fastest lap of the qualifying session when he was light on fuel during the second stint but Massa was able to post the best time when both cars were carrying their race fuel.
The front row lock-out was a timely boost for the Italian team after they had struggled during the first race of the season in Australia.
By contrast Hamilton, who had dominated in Melbourne, was finding it hard to get enough grip in Malaysia.
Behind the leading cars Jarno Trulli qualified in fifth place for Toyota ahead of the BMW-Saubers of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld.
Mark Webber managed to get his Red Bull ahead of Fernando Alonso in the Renault while Timo Glock rounds out the top ten in his Toyota.
Jenson Button qualified in 11th just ahead of David Coulthard but fellow Briton Anthony Davidson continues to struggle in the Super Aguri and will start at the back of the field.