Qualification – Massa steals the spotlight from the 3 protagonists

Felipe Massa delivered an incredible performance by securing pole position at his home circuit in Interlagos. The Brazilian is the leading contender in the championship and uses the opportunity to steal the spotlight from the three remaining title contenders. Hamilton is in the best position in second place, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen’s other Ferrari, while Fernando Alonso is once again trailing. Result

Ferrari, after being impressive during free practice 3, also confirmed their performance in the qualifying sessions. Massa is even the only one to break the 72-second barrier per lap. Kimi Räikkönen managed to get ahead by 30 thousandths while giving his all to close in on his title competitors in his last flying lap. The Spaniard indeed seems less comfortable on this track.

During the three phases of qualifying, the Ferraris and McLarens dominated… but only Alonso faced difficulties in completing a clean lap. He was below his usual performance and is not in the best position to overtake Lewis Hamilton in the championship and win the title tomorrow.

Behind, the first of the others is unexpected as it is a Red Bull, that of Mark Webber. The cars powered by Renault are much more competitive than the Renault team itself. The other Red Bull is indeed in 9th place, while Fisichella and Kovalainen didn’t even make it into the top 10. Kovalainen even finished his qualifying in the first phase as he ranks 17th…

The two BMWs reassured themselves, they are 6th and 7th, with Heidfeld ahead of Kubica. Trulli takes a good 8th place, ahead of Coulthard and Nico Rosberg in the first Williams.

Barrichello, at home, falls short of the top 10, finishing in eleventh position. He is ahead of Fisichella and the two Toro Rosso cars, frustrated with his performances. Vettel and Liuzzi indeed showed good lap times all weekend, and the team expected better in qualifying.

The small Scuderia still manages to beat a Honda, a Toyota, a Renault, and a Williams. Sato and Davidson for Super-Aguri are 18th and 20th. He surrounds the second Williams of Nakajima who, in his first qualifying, did not perform well, finishing in 19th position, far behind Rosberg.

Finally, the Spyker drivers conclude the race at the back, Sutil once again ahead of Yamamoto.

The weather conditions were very good, contrary to the forecast. Indeed, there was more than 60°C on the track and 30°C in the air. Tomorrow, the race should take place under bright sunshine and temperatures as hot as today.

Qualification ranking

Tomorrow, the final race of the season promises to be one of the most competitive in the history of Formula 1.