GP – Qualification: Massa on pole, without discomfort

Felipe Massa secured his first pole position of the 2008 season at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. For the second round of the season, the Brazilian led a Ferrari one-two. He was ahead of his teammate by half a second. The McLarens are over a second behind, likely with different strategies, on the second row. [See the LIVE Qualification by clicking here]

The rain ultimately did not make an appearance this Saturday despite high humidity levels and threatening clouds. Under these conditions, similar to the Brazilian climate, Massa fared the best. With the F2008, he dominated the session, likely with less fuel than his teammate, Räikkönen.

The also lighter McLarens struggled to get close to the Ferraris after their poor session this morning, but it is Heikki Kovalainen who takes the psychological edge here by leading his teammate Lewis Hamilton by a few hundredths.

Jarno Trulli was dangerous during the free practice 3 this morning and he also performed well with the 5th fastest time in qualifying, just two thousandths of a second behind Hamilton’s McLaren.

BMWs are underperforming compared to their expectations and find themselves in 6th and 7th positions, with Kubica ahead of Heidfeld, who was hindered in his last flying lap by three competitors, returning slowly to the pits.

A Red Bull entered Q3, defining the top 10, and it was Mark Webber who managed to secure the 8th fastest time. With a much heavier fuel load, Fernando Alonso succeeded in his gamble by also reaching Q3 with the Renault. However, he is only in ninth place, just ahead of the other Toyota of Timo Glock, who had a slight off-track excursion on the curbs but without any serious consequences.

No Honda could take part in the final part of the qualifications. Button still finished in 11th position, while his teammate, Rubens Barrichello, recorded the 14th fastest time with the RA108.

The other Red Bull, driven by David Coulthard, who hasn’t been able to get much track time since the start of the weekend due to recurring issues, takes the 12th fastest time, 146 thousandths ahead of Nelson Piquet in the second Renault, which shows a clear improvement since Australia.

Unlike at the Australian GP, the Toro Rossos and Williams are lagging behind. Sebastian Vettel is only 15th while his French teammate Bourdais failed to make it into Q2. He qualified in 19th position, unable to set a time on his last flying lap, having made his only mistake in two weekends. The Frenchman entered turn 6 too quickly and couldn’t prevent his STR02-B from going off into the grass. Rosberg and Nakajima are only 16th and 18th with the FW30.

Giancarlo Fisichella, despite using soft tires, couldn’t achieve an exploit with his modest Force India. He still takes the 17th position. His teammate is in 21st place, flanked by Sato and Davidson, the two Super Aguri drivers.

Malaysian GP – Qualifying Results:

[Watch the LIVE Qualification by clicking here]