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Written by:
RACER Staff
http://www.racer.com
05/10/2008 - 07:28 AM
Istanbul, Turkey
Massa will be chasing his third consecutive win in Turkey this Sunday. (LAT Photo) ยป More Photos
Back at the site of his maiden Formula 1 win, Felipe Massa showed again that there’s something about Turkey for him, clinching is third consecutive pole position in qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park.
With a best time of 1:27.617, the Brazilian beat the McLarens of Heikki Kovalainen - who posts a career-best starting position - and Lewis Hamilton in the final segment of knockout qualifying. Championship points leader Kimi Raikkonen will start fourth in the second Ferrari, ahead of Robert Kubica’s BMW. Massa will be chasing his third straight Turkish win tomorrow.
"It is a fantastic track for me," Massa confessed. "There is a lot of pleasure to drive on this track. Turn 8 is very challenging, there is lots of oversteer there to get the maximum of the car and also the corners are quite technical. There's quite a lot of change of direction in the first sector. I really enjoy to come here. It is a big pleasure.
"I am looking forward to try and have the best race possible," he continued. "For sure it won't be easy because we know our competitors are quite strong and quite close."
Kovalainen was equally pleased with his first-ever front-row start: "It has been a bit of roller coaster the last couple of weeks," admitted the Finn, who suffered a nasty crash two weeks ago in the Spanish GP. "I was lucky to survive Spain with no injuries. The recovery has been fantastic, and I have to say thanks to the medical people in Spain and in Finland.
"I knew coming here I would pass the medical. I have been happy here with my car and confident all the time. My lap in Q3 was very clean and it's a pleasure to start from the front row."
Hamilton, outqualified by Kovalainen for the second time this season, lamented his tire choice: "It was a tough qualifying session for me," he said. "I had a fantastic lap in Q1, and in Q2 I struggled a bit on the option tire so I opted for the prime tire (for Q3) because I felt it would be more consistent. I did it and I guess I made the wrong decision."
After placing first and third on Saturday practice, the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and David Coulthard backed that performance up
Williams’ Nico Rosberg was the top men among the drivers stuck in Q2, and will share row six with Honda’s Rubens Barrichello, who tomorrow will become F1’s most experienced driver ever with 257 GP starts. Row seven has Jenson Button in the second Honda and Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel, ahead of Toyota’s Timo Glock - only 15 cars get into the second round following Super Aguri’s demise.
Thus, left behind in Q3 were also just five cars: Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams plus Renault’s Nelson Piquet, Sebastien Bourdais in the second STR and the Force India duo of Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil.
Turkish Grand Prix qualifying results:
1) Massa, Ferrari, 1:27.617
2) Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes, 1:27.808
3) Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes, 1:27.923
4) Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:27.936
5) Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:28.390
6) Webber, Red Bull-Renault, 1:28.417
7) Alonso, Renault, 1:28.422
8) Trulli, Toyota, 1:28.836
9) Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 1:28.882
10) Coulthard, Red Bull-Renault, 1:29.959
11) Rosberg, Williams-Toyota, 1:27.012
12) Barrichello, Honda, 1:27.219
13) Button, Honda, 1:27.298
14) Vettel, Toro Rosso-Ferrari, 1:27.412
15) Glock, Toyota, 1:27.806
16) Nakajima, Williams-Toyota, 1:27.547
17) Piquet, Renault, 1:27.568
18) Bourdais, Toro Rosso-Ferrari, 1:27.621
19) Fisichella, Force India-Ferrari, 1:27.807
20) Sutil, Force India-Ferrari, 1:28.325
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