Massa Puts it on Pole in Front of Home Crowd.
Sao Paulo, Brazil was rocking when Felipe Massa crossed the start finish line with the fastest time of the final qualifying session. This marks the 7th time this season that the young Ferrari driver has started on the front row of the grid. Massa, a 25 year old who grew up in Sao Paulo, has been a bit of a surprise in his debut season with Ferrari. With 70 points in the driver’s championship he currently sits in 3rd place overall, with Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella right behind him with 69 points. If Massa is able to pull off a win here in Brazil he might be able to hand Ferrari the constructor’s championship, which would certainly help secure his future with the team.
While most of the attention was focused on Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, both drivers were somewhat disappointing. Schumacher suffered some mechanical problems in the final qualifying session and was immediately dropped to the 10th spot on the grid, making the already improbable drivers championship look even further out of his grasp. Alonso was able to hold onto fourth spot but would have loved to be on the front of the grid for the start of the Brazilian GP.
Brazilian GP top 10.
1. Felipe Massa - Renault
2. Kimi Räikkönen - McLaren-Mercedes
3. Jarno Trulli - Toyota
4. Fernando Alonso - Renault
5. Rubens Barrichello - Honda
6. Giancarlo Fisichella - Renault
7. Ralf Schumacher - Toyota
8. Nick Heidfeld - Sauber-BMW
9. Robert Kubica - Sauber-BMW
10. Michael Schumacher - Ferrari
Detailed qualifying results.
-Bill Mertz
Formula 1, Felipe Massa, qualifying, Brazil
