Red Pole

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa pips McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton on the last lap to take the top position at the Singapore Grand Prix.

SINGAPORE: Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton continued their rivalry in a thrilling qualifying session of the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday night.

Hamilton barely made it to the final qualifying session. However, he was a transformed man when he leaped-forged to pole position with barely few minutes to go. Hamilton’s joy though was short-lived as Massa pulled off a stunning final lap to snatch the pole from McLaren driver.

It was season’s fifth pole for Massa, who also qualified quickest at the Monaco and Valencia street circuits. “First of all, the car was just perfect, nice to drive, and then I managed to drive a perfect lap,” said the Ferrari driver, whose home Interlagos circuit also runs anti-clockwise.

The Saturday evening began on an exciting note when Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella hit the notorious kerb on turn 10 and crashed into the wall during the practice session.

Team mechanics managed to repair his damaged car and were able to put in on the track for the qualifying session. However, the Italian could last only half a lap as he lost control of his car on the second turn and met with the same fate. Force India had another forgettable qualifying as Adrian Sutil and Fisichella finished at the back of the grid.

Meanwhile, Renault’s Fernando Alonso, too had a frustrating night after his car suffered engine failure in the second qualifying session. However, all the other drivers managed to negotiate the bumpy track and the treacherous kerbs without any incidents.

The night came to life in the final qualifying session as Hamilton, Massa and Kimi Raikkonen fought an intense battle for the pole position. The defending world champion, Raikkonen, for a change, seemed to be consistent in every session and finished a creditable third.

The final lap in the session came in the form of an absorbing battle between Massa and Hamilton. Hamilton had charted a remarkable turnaround in the final session. For some one, who had struggled to be in the top 10 a few minutes earlier, topping the final qualifying session till a few minutes before its conclusion was a remarkable feat.

However, Massa was not going to take his challenge lying down. The 27-year-old Brazilian driver stunned the crowd by shaving 0.6 second of Hamilton time in the dying moments of the session. Raikkonen will share the second row with BMW’s Robert Kubica, who finished fourth. McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen will start from fifth, sharing the third row with BMW’s Nick Heidfeld. Sebastian Vettel of Toro Rosso was seventh in qualifying, while Toyota’s Timo Glock will start from eighth. Saturday’s qualifying session could very well be a dress rehearsal for the race on Sunday. A win at Singapore for either Hamilton or Massa could provide the decisive push to either of the drivers in the march towards title.