Ferrari’s Felipe Massa scored his sixth career pole position in Sao Paulo while championship rival Lewis Hamilton will start in a disappointing fourth.
By starting on pole position – his third successive pole – the Brazilian has a great opportunity to win the race in front of his adoring fans and possibly the world title. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli lines up in an impressive second, his best grid spot since the French Grand Prix back in 2005.
Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen will start in third for Ferrari. The Italian team can actually win the constructors’ championship if Massa and Raikkonen score a strong result in Sao Paulo.
For Lewis Hamilton, this qualifying result will be a big concern for his championship prospect. He needed to start at the front in order to win his first drivers’ title in style but with fourth position, Lewis will face a difficult Brazilian Grand Prix on race day. Yes, he can still win the championship by finishing in the top five, but Lewis must be feeling a little worried.
His McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen tried his best to upset the grid order as the Finn had a quick car around the Interlagos circuit, but when it mattered, Heikki could only manage fifth. As for Fernando Alonso, who again stated his claim in supporting Felipe and Ferrari in the title chase, the Renault driver will start in sixth.
Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel will line up seventh on the grid with team-mate Sebastien Bourdais in ninth. Between the pair will be Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber.
And rounding out the top ten is Timo Glock in the second Toyota.
Nelson Piquet Jr missed out on an opportunity to take part in Q3 by a small margin (0.03 seconds!) and will start in P11 for his home race.
As for David Coulthard, who will be racing in his final Grand Prix with a special livery Red Bull car, the Scot will be two positions behind his team-mate Mark Webber in P14.
Fellow race veteran Rubens Barrichello, who maybe out of his Honda seat at the end of the year, out-qualified his team-mate Jenson Button with P15.
So the stage is set for a dramatic finale in this exciting and controversial season of Formula One motor racing. Lewis Hamilton heads the drivers’ standings with seven points over Felipe Massa, and yet it is the Brazilian who has the advantage on the race track.
If Lewis wants to win the title, he needs to stay calm and run at the same pace as the cars ahead. The title will be his if Hamilton finishes inside the top five.
For Felipe, pole position is ideal, so all he needs to do next is go for the maximum ten points with race victory. And hope something unfortunate will prevail his title rival in not scoring any points!
Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix could yet be a wet race so it will be fascinating who will be fast and composed enough to win the championship. Will it be Lewis Hamilton or Felipe Massa? Let the showdown between the two commence on race day!
Grid positions for the Brazilian Grand Prix, Sao Paulo:
1. Massa Ferrari 1:12.368
2. Trulli Toyota 1:12.737
3. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:12.825
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.830
5. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.917
6. Alonso Renault 1:12.967
7. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:13.082
8. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:13.297
9. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:14.105
10. Glock Toyota 1:14.230
11. Piquet Renault 1:12.137
12. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:12.289
13. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:12.300
14. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:12.717
15. Barrichello Honda 1:13.139
16. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:12.800
17. Button Honda 1:12.810
18. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:13.002
19. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:13.426
20. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:13.508