Massa takes pole with Alonso aside

F1 Grand Prix, GP Malaysia, Sepang International Circuit

After a very dismal grand prix at Australia, Felipe Massa has very much confirmed he is on form and actually faster than his teammate Raikkonen. He will start from third place tomorrow. Fernando Alonso is in between them after another good performance. His teammate Hamilton appeared a bit unhappy after qualifying although is is 4th on the grid.

The first session was completed without any special events and was merely a confirmation of the McLaren and Ferrari performances. It appears as if the McLarens have closed in a bit on Ferrari. Fernando Alonso was the fastest man on track in the first session. The most notable improvemens came from Red Bull with their drivers in 8th and 9th, a sign that Newey's RB3 may well have a lot of potential. It is very likely it will keep improving as the first races go by.
Down in the table, both Spykers are out and are joined by Wurz, Speed, Barrichello and Davidson.

At the start of the second session, the world champion is quickly lined up to start as the first car. He is immediately followed by a lot of other cars as there is an increasing chance of showers during the rest of the session. As a result, 5 minutes later there is literally nobody on the circuit. Alonso at that time is ahead of Massa and his teammate Hamilton.
At the end of the session all drivers not in the top 5 at that time returned to the track, but once again both Renaults are dissappointing. Although Kovalainen is ust ahead of Fisichella, they are out in the second session, together with Sato and Coulthard.

In the final session the battle between the two leading teams goes through the wire and is tense as of the start. Alonso started with used hard tyres while most of the others left on brand new soft ones. During the first stops all drivers are obviously fitted with the soft tyres. The last lap is an incredibly close battle with Raikkonen 5 seconds ahead on the track of Alonso, followed by Hamilton and a bit further also Massa. All four improve on their times but it is eventually Massa who puts in the fastest lap and therefore takes his first pole of the season. Fernando Alonso was again a serious threat and is second.