Qualification – Ice Hamilton at Mount Fuji!

The British driver Lewis Hamilton secured an important pole position this afternoon at the Fuji circuit in the battle for the drivers’ title. Tomorrow, for the 16th start of the season, the McLaren-Mercedes driver will be ahead of Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari and Heikki Kovalainen’s second McLaren. Massa (Ferrari), Hamilton’s main rival in the championship, is fifth, just behind Alonso in the lead Renault.

Scuderia Ferrari had announced its goal to achieve three one-two finishes in the last three races of the season, but for the past few minutes, the task seems difficult as Hamilton set the fastest time in qualifying.

The weather conditions are better than in the morning; the track has dried up and the sun is shining, but the grip is not at its best. We remember the torrential rain that fell last year on the Japanese circuit.

The final part of the qualifications is just starting, and it’s Kimi Räikkönen who takes the provisional best time. The Finnish driver seems in good shape today and is ahead of his teammate, Felipe Massa. Scuderia Ferrari announces its goals: a one-two finish.

Räikkönen improves the pole position on his penultimate lap, but young Englishman Lewis Hamilton doesn’t give up. Currently leading the world championship, he drives his McLaren two-tenths faster than the Finn on his final flying lap and secures the pole position for good.

The battle raged at every level of the qualifications. Hamilton takes the first position and is ahead of Räikkönen, but the following ranking is unusual: Kovalainen occupies the third position. The Finn loves Japan, and the Fuji circuit seems to love him as well. Last year with Renault, Kovalainen climbed onto his first Formula 1 podium. Today with McLaren, he wants to do just as well and is ahead of Fernando Alonso.

The Spanish driver on Renault was stubborn in reclaiming a difficult position to obtain after the first minutes of qualifying. Alonso indeed qualified for Q2 and Q3 in the very last seconds… The Iberian even overtakes Massa’s Ferrari by 32 milliseconds.

Behind, Robert Kubica is 6th and the only BMW representative in the top 15. Nick Heidfeld only managed to secure the 16th position after experiencing significant difficulties in setting up his car.

The Toyotas are at home and want to be seen; Both drivers are in the top 10. Jarno Trulli is 7th, just ahead of his teammate, Timo Glock, who set a very good time in free practice yesterday and this morning.

Toyota leads the two Toro Rosso drivers who once again deliver a very strong performance by reaching Q3. Sébastien Bourdais is 10th and behind Vettel but seems to have more fuel for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. The little Scuderia didn’t want to put all their eggs in one basket.

Piquet is 12th in the second Renault. The Brazilian made a much better impression in qualifying than in previous Grand Prix and is surrounded by the Red Bull Renaults of Coulthard and Webber. They are followed by the two Williams-Toyotas of Nakajima and Rosberg. The Japanese driver, at home, is ahead of his teammate by 80 thousandths.

At the back of the grid, Honda and Force India share the last positions. The Japanese team doesn’t seem able to make progress this weekend, unlike Toyota. Fisichella is at the very back, less than a second behind Sutil, his teammate at Force India. Paradoxically, the Force Indias were the fastest on the straight line today, with notably more than a 10 km/h difference with the McLarens on Mount Fuji.

Results Qualifications – Japan GP – Saturday, October 11, 2008: