Felipe Massa is on pole position for Sunday's inaugural Singapore night race. His championship rival and McLaren star Lewis Hamilton lines up alongside him.
Massa set the fastest time of 1.44:801 in his Ferrari F2008, some six-tenths faster than the MP4-23 piloted by Hamilton.
Championship contenders team mates
Reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen lines up third, with Robert Kubica accompanying him on the second row.
This could prove to be crucial for Ferrari, as they need Raikkonen to fill Hamilton's wing mirrors tomorrow, not to let Lewis fly away and pester the Brazilian throughout the race.
Unfortunately for McLaren, Heikki Kovalainen is down in fifth, meaning he will have some catching up to do before he can assist the Brit in battle.
No surprises
It was business as usual in Singapore, despite it being the first floodlit race.
During the first qualifying session, Hamilton put down the early benchmarker, and retreated to the pits, standard procedure.
Massa and Raikkonen seemed to struggle in their Ferrari's during the first run, but Raikkonen shot to the top of the time sheet in front of fellow Finn Kovalainen. Massa clocked the fourth fastest time.
Fernando Alonso, Robert Kubica and Sebastien Vettel all impressed, easily making it through into the top 15.
Coulthard and Button also made it into the second session, a solid performance by both Brits.
Piquet, Bourdais, Barrichello, Sutil and Fisichella all got knocked out in the early stages.
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Piquet and Bourdais couldn't match the pace of their team mates, and Barrichello couldn't push his Honda any harder; it was always looking dim for the veteran.
Sutil and Fisichella find themselves at the back as usual, Fisichella smashing into the wall and breaking his front wing during his first run. Those much-needed points seem look like they might have to wait until 2009.
Monza re-run?
After a short break, the second session got underway.
After topping the time sheets in practice No. 2 and No. 3, Fernando Alonso's car came to a halt on the track, just minutes into the session. Unable to set a time, the Spaniard will line up 15th, disappointing for him, but crucial for an unexpected driver.
Lewis Hamilton made a mess up of things in his first flying lap. He locked the wheel and therefore had to cut the chicane (not for the first time). He retreated back to the pits, and made modifications to his tyre pressures before going out again. Time was running out.
Meanwhile, Massa had put down the fastest lap of the weekend so far and was looking comfortable, as was team mate Raikkonen.
Both Williams drivers shone, both making it into the Top Ten, along with Kubica, Heidfeld, Vettel, Kovalainen, and Glock.
Lewis Hamilton was under immense pressure to get a time set, or it would be Monza mess up part two. A scrappy first flying lap, Hamilton went through in P8 but got pushed down to tenth, just on the border line.
Therefore, had Alonso continued his strong performance, Hamilton could have been looking at two second-session knockouts in a row. It just so happens that fate was on the side of the British driver.
Both Red Bull drivers were knocked out, along with Button and Trulli.
The Battle for Pole
In the top ten shootout, Massa put down the early benchmarker, with Hamilton second and Raikkonen third.
After a swift tyre change, all three heavyweights took to the circuit once more, with Raikkonen completing his flying lap first, and knocking Hamilton off of the front row and putting the Number 1 car on a provisional P2.
Hamilton then responded to Raikkonen, and placed his McLaren on pole, until a storming Felipe Massa smashed his time by a massive six-tenths.
Robert Kubica performed well, lining up behind Raikkonen and forcing Kovalainen down the pecking order. Nick Heidfeld is alongside the young Finn on row three.
Vettel proved that Toro Rosso's pace was genuine and he lines up seventh for tomorrow's race, with a good shot at a handful of points.
After being surprised to even make it into the top ten, Glock placed his Toyota in P8, with both FW30 Williams occupying the fifth row.
Fuel levels
The common opinion is that Massa is running a lot lighter than championship rival Hamilton. Should this be the case, and Hamilton manages to keep the Brazilian in his sights, we could be in for a very interesting race.
Until then, keep predicting!
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about 1 month ago
I actually think that Massa may only be a lap lighter than Lewis, and that he will take the win unless he crashes, which he could. Frankly, anyone can win tomorrow.
from about 1 month ago
Agreed...
He posted the fastest lap of the weekend in Q2 so assuming he's faster than Hamilton purely because of a lighter Ferrari is an insult. Over the last two seasons, Massa has set more poles than any other driver bar Lewis Hamilton; the two are tied on 11 a peice. This despite the mechanical and other problems (even fuelling at one race) that Ferrari has thrown his way.
Unfortunately, I missed qualifying this week but Michael described Hamilton's apparent messiness during Q3 and, if he did struggle, I do not think a margin of this level is beyond the Brazilian.
It will be a pleasant surprise if he comes in a lap after Hamilton :D
about 1 month ago
hello billy where did yiu gather the common opinion that massa is lot lighter?
from about 1 month ago
i think martin brundle/james allen mentioned it on the ITV coverage in britain, of course that is only specualtion and opinion.
the bbc sport website (606) also lets people voice their opinions, and many believe that massa is lighter.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7639689.stm
look at the quote in the '606 debate box'
from about 1 month ago
ok billy i think my question was best answered in the race today :). tnx for the explanation with citations, i had not been refering the british media on this and thus my ignorance of your opinion.
from about 1 month ago
don't apologise mate, if i make a statement in my article and don't back it up with evidence you have all the right to ask where i got it from. :)
from about 1 month ago
i have NOW read few british media & official f1 site and they seem to suggest 2 laps less fuel at max, did that in your opinion account for the six tenths massa made?
anyway i realise all these talk now is stale as we saw how much fuel went in to each & how good each were in pace. i just had my doubts when you said...
"The common opinion is that Massa is running a lot lighter than championship rival Hamilton. Should this be the case, and Hamilton manages to keep the Brazilian in his sights, we could be in for a very interesting race."
from about 1 month ago
yeah of course... it was just what I thought, i couldn't see how the ferrari could be that much faster than mclaren without being on a different strategy. maybe i should have said:
"i find it hard to believe that the ferrari is that much faster than the mclaren without being on a radically different strategy, possibly a 3 stopper."
apologies mate
from about 1 month ago
hey don't apologise billy. you are very polite :)
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