Brazilian Felipe Massa won the qualifying duel at Sakhir to start from pole-position in tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix, ahead of ever-surprising British rookie Lewis Hamilton, who will enjoy his first front row start in his career. All cars and drivers had to endure grueling temperatures on track.
"Today we have shown we have a very quick car, even in qualifying when we know everybody has the same fuel. Yesterday we showed very strong pace on long runs, too. For sure the track is not very easy because it is always a little bit dirty, especially at the beginning of the race", Massa said during the official post-qualifying press conference.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was delighted with his performance on a track he raced last year in the GP2 series: "It just keeps getting better and better. To be on the front row in only my third Formula 1 weekend is an amazing feeling. The start tomorrow will be crucial."
Massa was fastest in all three sections of qualifying, each time followed by Hamilton. Their team-mates, Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso, engaged in a close battle on top of the championship standings, had to settle for third and fourth respectively.
BMW recorded another solid performance by Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica. The German-Polish duo monopolized the third row of the grid for the blue-and-white cars. "The two teams in front of us were clearly faster. The gap is significant, but we have again been the third strongest team", Heidfeld commented.
Renault showed positive signs of recovery with Giancarlo Fisichella clinching the last place available in Q3 by little more than one hundredth of a second ahead of Wurz. The Italian veteran eventually set the seventh fastest time, which he said to to the best the team could currently achieve, while team-mate Heikki Kovalainen couldn't manage better than 12th in his spare car, after gearbox and fuel pump issued in yesterday's practice sessions.
Mark Webber was again the fastest Red Bull driver in qualifying, as team-mate David Coulthard lost his top gears during Q1 and will have to start from 21st on the grid. The Scotsman summed up his disappointment: "The car lost fifth, sixth and seventh gear, which is not ideal when you're trying to qualify!" Jarno Trulli (Toyota) and Nico Rosberg (Williams-Toyota) rounded up the top 10.
Honda Racing drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button will start tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix side by side on the 8th row of the grid. The struggling team is yet to deliver a decent performance this year and it seems that team efforts are now directed to the development of the B-spec car, scheduled to make its first appearance by mid-season, in Canada.
There was celebration at Bridgestone, the Japanese tire supplier claiming its hundredth pole-position since their Grand Prix debut in 1997. "It was inevitable that we would be on pole today but it is nevertheless good for us to take our 100th pole position in Formula 1", Bridgestone Motorsport Head of Track Engineering Operations, Kees van de Grint said.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was delighted with his performance on a track he raced last year in the GP2 series: "It just keeps getting better and better. To be on the front row in only my third Formula 1 weekend is an amazing feeling. The start tomorrow will be crucial."
Massa was fastest in all three sections of qualifying, each time followed by Hamilton. Their team-mates, Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso, engaged in a close battle on top of the championship standings, had to settle for third and fourth respectively.
BMW recorded another solid performance by Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica. The German-Polish duo monopolized the third row of the grid for the blue-and-white cars. "The two teams in front of us were clearly faster. The gap is significant, but we have again been the third strongest team", Heidfeld commented.
Mark Webber was again the fastest Red Bull driver in qualifying, as team-mate David Coulthard lost his top gears during Q1 and will have to start from 21st on the grid. The Scotsman summed up his disappointment: "The car lost fifth, sixth and seventh gear, which is not ideal when you're trying to qualify!" Jarno Trulli (Toyota) and Nico Rosberg (Williams-Toyota) rounded up the top 10.
Honda Racing drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button will start tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix side by side on the 8th row of the grid. The struggling team is yet to deliver a decent performance this year and it seems that team efforts are now directed to the development of the B-spec car, scheduled to make its first appearance by mid-season, in Canada.
There was celebration at Bridgestone, the Japanese tire supplier claiming its hundredth pole-position since their Grand Prix debut in 1997. "It was inevitable that we would be on pole today but it is nevertheless good for us to take our 100th pole position in Formula 1", Bridgestone Motorsport Head of Track Engineering Operations, Kees van de Grint said.
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