Massa on pole, problems for Alonso

F1 Grand Prix, GP France, Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours

Felipe Massa will start the French Grand Prix from pole position. It's the fourth pole for the Brazilian this season. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton will start from second position and Kimi Raikkonen from third.

First part:
Qualifying began in the warmest conditions that have reigned on the Magny-Cours circuit since the start of the grand prix weekend: air temperature 24°C and track temperature 44°C. The Renaults were among the early pace-setters with Fisichella getting round in 1’16.054 to set the provisional fastest time before he was beaten by Kovalainen who got down to 1’16.054. The top men needed only one lap to overcome the first hurdle even if Massa went slightly off-course in the Lycee corner. Hamilton set the quickest time in 1’14.805 from Kimi Raikkonen in 1’14.872, Felipe Massa 1’15.305 and Fernando Alonso 1’15.322. Heikki finished in fifth place in 1’15.524 and Fisichella dropped back to twelfth in 1’16.047.
Eliminated : Liuzzi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari), Wurz (Williams-Toyota), Sato (Super Aguri), Davidson (Super Aguri), Albers (Spyker-Ferrari), Sutil (Spyker-Ferrari).

Second part:
The track temperature was now 45°C and a hard-charging Massa was in maximum attack mode in his Ferrari, his right-hand front locking up and smoking under braking for the Lycee. Finally Hamilton maintained his superiority in 1’14.795 followed by the two Ferraris, Massa again quicker than his team-mate (1’14.822 against 1’14.828). Fourth was Robert Kubica and fifth Fernando Alonso. The ING Renault Team heaved a sigh of satisfaction as both Giancarlo Fisichella (1’15.227) and Heikki Kovalainen(1’ 15.272) qualified for the final shootout for the third time since the start of the season, and the second on the trot with seventh and eighth times respectively.
Eliminated: Schumacher (Toyota), Button (Honda), Barrichello (Honda), Webber (Red Bull-Renault), Speed (Toro-Rosso-Ferrari), Coulthard (Red Bull-Renault, gearbox problems).

Final shootout:
Finally, it was Felipe Massa who made pole his own at Magny-Cours this afternoon in a time of 1’15.034. Right from the green light Alonso’s miserable weekend continued with a technical problem and his car did not leave its garage. Kimi Raikkonen was the first to set provisional pole in 1’16.618. Then with 5 minutes to go Hamilton got down to 1’15.815 before Massa’s final charge.

On the second row of the grid are Raïkkönen and Kubica in his BMW Sauber, the young Pole’s best qualifying result since the start of the year. It is also Renault’s best collective qualification of the season so far with Fisichella in fifth spot in 1’15.674 and Kovalainen alongside him in 1’ 15.826.