[Dirtycheat]

Originally Posted by funkdoctorspock

So dc, how did you enjoy the British GP yesterday? I couldn't help but reflect on your Hamilton anaylsis while he was lapping the field.

In fact, Hamilton destroyed the field in terrible conditions while everyone else was slipping, sliding and choking.

If this race wasn't an indication on how shite Massa is, you seriously need help. Even Massa said nothing was wrong with his car. He must of spun out at least 12 times. Its amazing what cars can do without traction control. Seems to expose the quality of the driver. And Massa has 0% quality.

Also goes to show that Rubens should still be driving for Ferrari. Incredible race with Honda's POS.

3 way tie for first. DC, anytime you want to back out of the bet, let me know. Its definitely not looking good for you and I would hate to see you endure the abuse that you'll go through when you eventually lose. Let me know.

Mr. Hamilton has just served notice to the field, haters and nay sayers. Game On!

Its a shame that very soon, the Brit GP won't be held at Silverstone. This race weekend showed that British fans do not give a hoot whether they are sitting in makeshift stands or not.

If the vision for F1 is to have permenant tracks with fixed seating and grandiose paddocks, with a limited turnout [hmmm, Malaysia comes to mind] instead of makeshift seating with decent paddocks [Silverstone], where the turnout for the whole weekend was massive, I can see F1 going south.

The Brit fans were amazing. That's how I remember F1 fans everywhere.

I enjoyed the grand prix, it was very exciting. Hamilton's overtakes at the start were remenisent of shumie Shame ferrari got it wrong with raikonen and massa had a truly horrendous week.


I am not a hamilton hater , i am just saying he could be an awful lot better if he gave F1 even more of his attention. He has slipped up at times this year when i really thought he could have done much better by his standards. Perhaps this is because he is too much of a celebrity or due to his lifestyle. He puts a lot of time and effort into other things. Everyone knows at some point in his career he is going to completely dominate the sport but if he focuses on it completely he could do that much sooner. This is the perfect year for him because alonso will probably be in a ferrari or at least a much more competitve car next year and will put up a good fight. Like i said, right now he is in a clio, which is crap.

He has a lot of potential, it would be a shame for him to not fulfil every last bit of it.

Anyway, great drive by barrichello, he deserved it. (good friend of massa too ) Shame he had that fuel problem right at the end.

I Feel sorry for mark webber, Kovalinen and Couthard. Big days for them for different reasons but it didnt go as planned really.

I cant imagine there not being silverstone, its one of the best tracks in forumla 1. Ohwell.


btw, i wont go back on my bet. I think Massa could easily finish either 3rd or above. He just needs to be more consistant. I totally disagree with what you said before about him being a crap driver in a good car simply because if he was as crap as you say he is he would have much less points at this stage of the season. The car doesnt drive itself.

[funkdoctorspock]

Lewis grabs the German Grand Prix Pole.

His race to lose, as the Mclaren's have been fantastic during testing and qualifying.

He'll get it done.

Qualifying: Hamilton bags Hockenheim pole
Saturday 19th July 2008

Lewis Hamilton will start the German GP from pole position after beating Felipe Massa to the coveted grid slot in Saturday's qualifying.


The McLaren driver, who led the way in both practice sessions on Friday, carried his pace through to qualifying on Saturday where he clocked a 1:15.666 to edge Massa by two tenths.


Third place on the grid went to Heikki Kovalainen as the McLaren driver got within half a second of his team-mate while a last-gasp effort from Jarno Trulli put him P4.


Fernando Alonso and an off-form Kimi Raikkonen complete the top six.


Qualifying 1
There was a small threat of rain in the build up to qualifying, but when the pitlane exit light turned to green, the clouds had blown over. The ambient temperature was at 23C with the track at 32C.


Local favourites Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel were out on track first and Vettel set P1 at 1:17.030. Kimi Raikkonen was out early and the World Champion looked as though he was still trying to find a balance for his car. He took P1 from Vettel but his lap was only a 1:16.810.


With almost everyone on the harder Bridgestone tyre, many drivers chose to put in two laps, and Rosberg came round again with a 1:16.686, Mark Webber's first lap got him P1 at 1:16.395 which he then lost to Kimi Raikkonen's second hot lap of 1:16.352. Webbo then reclaimed P1 with his second lap at 1:16.058.


Felipe Mass needed just one lap to get his Ferrari onto P1, a 1:15.884, however Raikkonen wasn't done with, and lowered P1 to 1:15.627 on his third lap. Massa was considerably quicker on his second lap - a 1:15.255.


Lewis Hamilton's onboard camera showed him missing the apex at the hairpin by a country mile, but such is the McLaren driver's confidence through the stadium section that he still took P1 with a 1:15.218.


Going into the final three minutes, the danger positions were: 12.Nakajima, 13.Rosberg, 14.Barrichello, 15.Bourdais, 16.Sutil, 17.Trulli, 18.Coulthard, 19.Fisichella, 20.Piquet


Before the back of the grid sorted itself out Felipe Massa went out one final time to set P1 at 1:14.921.


With less than two seconds between the front and the back of the grid, a tenth of a second could be the difference between several places. As the cars crossed the line Coulthard got himself out of jail by going 8th. Jarno Trulli, who was surprisingly far down, jumped up to 5th, Rosberg went 7th, Glock claimed 6th, Nakajima improved to 14th which Jenson Button immediately took off him.


Alonso moved up to 10th, Nick Heidfeld made himself safe in 7th, but Nelson Piquet Junior trailed home in 17th complaining that Sebastian Vettel had got in the way of his final lap. Piquet Junior was only 0.2 slower than team-mate Fernando Alonso who made it through to Q2.


So out went:
16. Nakakima
17.Piquet
18.Barrichello
19.Sutil
20.Fisichella


Qualifying 2
The major surprise of Q2 was the fact that both Ferraris took to the track first. Having put in a late fast lap in Q1, the set-up on Felipe Massa's Ferrari didn't look like it needed attention. Both opted for the softer tyre.


Raikkonen set P1 at 1:14.949, Felipe Massa reduced it to 1:14.747 and soon Lewis Hamilton had claimed it with a 1:14.603 with Heikki Kovalainen back in P4.


The two BMWs were last out on track and though Robert Kubica took P7, Nick Heidfeld could only manage P10 (disproving the theory that he'd cracked his qualifying malaise).


Going into the final three minutes the danger positions were: 7.Kubica, 8.Webber, 9.Glock, 10.Heidfeld, 11.Coulthard, 12.Rosberg, 13.Vettel, 14.Bourdais, 15.Button.


Sebastien Bourdais ruined his final attempt by going straight on at the hairpin looking almost as though he was trying to explore the old part of the circuit and the Jim Clark memorial.


His Toro Rosso team-mate Sebastian Vettel, claimed P8, Robert Kubica leapt to P5, Nico Rosberg couldn't improve, David Coulthard took 8th place, Button could only manage P14, while Fernando Alonso put in amazing lap to move to P4.


Nick Heidfeld was the big loser, locking his brakes at the hairpin and trashing his lap. So as the dust cleared it was:
11.Glock
12.Heidfeld
13.Rosberg
14.Bourdais
15.Button


Qualifying 3
Jarno Trulli was first out on track with nine minutes left to go and set Provisional Pole at 1:17.126.


Continuing the trend, Kimi Raikkonen came out early again and put in a dreadful lap, running wide at the exit of Turns 1 and 2, his Ferrari looking very undrivable. Nevertheless he was quick enough to take P1 with a 1:17.101.


This was instantly put into perspective by Felipe Massa who followed him over the line with a 1:16.323. Heikki Kovalainen ruined his first shot at pole with a rallycross moment onto the grass at the end of the lap at the exit of the final turn.


Because the marshals put the yellow flags out for what was a momentary off-track excursion for Heikki, Lewis Hamilton lifted in the turn (fearing he might be penalised by race stewards, such is the lack of confidence in race officiation these days) and could only manage P2.


Meanwhile Fernando slotted his Renault into an amazing P2 - so after the first runs it was Massa, Alonso, Hamilton, Kubica, Raikkonen, Trulli, Webber, Vettel, Coulthard, Kovalainen.


Raikkonen led them out on the second round of hot laps and though he improved, he could only manage P2. Felipe Massa improved to 1:15.859 and looked to have nailed pole position, Kovalainen kept his McLaren sufficiently on the tarmac enough to take P2 and then Lewis Hamilton finished off an amazing lap in style with a startling 1:15.666 - a whole second quicker than his first lap!


But the action hadn't finished as Alonso crossed the line in P4 and Jarno Trulli equalled his best position of the year taking Alonso's P4 and relegating Raikkonen to P6 and the slow side of the grid.


It had been the pole position Lewis Hamilton should have scored a race earlier, but he will welcome a start from the clean side of the grid at a circuit where it can get very hairy into Turns 1 and 2. Robert Kubica back in P7 will be looking to nick inside of World Championship rival Kimi Raikkonen on the opening tour, while Felipe Massa will be hoping that it turns hot (not rainy) on Sunday afternoon.

FH

Times
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:15.666
02 F. Massa Ferrari 1:15.859
03 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:16.143
04 J. Trulli Toyota 1:16.191
05 F. Alonso Renault 1:16.385
06 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:16.389
07 R. Kubica BMW 1:16.521
08 M. Webber Red Bull 1:17.014
09 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:17.244
10 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:17.503
11 T. Glock Toyota 1:15.508
12 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:15.581
13 N. Rosberg Williams 1:15.633
14 J. Button Honda 1:15.701
15 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:15.858
16 K. Nakajima Williams 1:16.083
17 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:16.189
18 R. Barrichello Honda 1:16.246
19 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:16.657
20 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:16.963

Source

[Dirtycheat]

Massa today, what the fuck was he doing?

It basically came to a point where all he had to do was overtake a renault clio. Then he fucks that up, waits for hamilton to come then actually make way for him.

Ive seen drivers leave less space on the inside under a blue flag. Im baffled.

Pathetic really. I honestly think that this year is the last chance for massa and he has had plenty of great opportunities this year. Next year they will get rid of him and replace him with alonso or kubica. Maybe even get rid of raikonen too.


Well done to Hamilton, a 1 man race really. He Could even afford to pull over at a service station on the way and have a quick lunch.

[Mark]

2008 - Hungarian Grand Prix Preview








Race Track Diagram:





Location: Nagydij, Budapest

Race Date: 03 Aug 2008

Number of Laps: 70

Circuit Length: 4.381 km

Race Distance: 306.663 km

Lap Record: 1:19.071 - M Schumacher (2004)


Last Year Table:

f1.com text preview:

Can Lewis Hamilton and McLaren continue their triumphal progress on the track at which the Englishman was so dominant in 2007? That is one of the big questions of the weekend, together with whether Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa can get their championship campaigns back in the groove as they challenge the silver arrows.


Testing in Jerez last week tended to be clouded by the fact that several teams chose once again to run 2009 slicks with 2008 aero packages, but both of the top teams are confident of strong performances this weekend. Massa and Raikkonen do not believe there is anything fundamentally wrong with their Ferrari F2008s, while Hamilton believes McLaren have made serious progress in the past month.


Last year the Englishman was embroiled in that celebrated inter-team spat with Fernando Alonso in qualifying, which appeared to have cost the former his shot at the pole until Alonso was docked five grid places. It’s unlikely that Heikki Kovalainen will be anything other than 100 percent supportive of his team mate this time out, but for sure qualifying will be crucially important on a circuit on which overtaking is traditionally so difficult.


The track could also suit BMW Sauber, since it requires similar downforce settings to Monaco, which, walls apart, it so closely resembles in many ways. Nick Heidfeld was on the podium here in 2006 and 2007, and Robert Kubica would like nothing more than to satisfy the strong Polish contingent and to win again on the second anniversary of his Formula One debut. A strong result will also keep his championship hopes on track.

“For sure we can expect a lot of Polish fans in Budapest,” Kubica said. “The Hungarian Grand Prix is the closest race to my home country, so in some way it is my home race. The Hungaroring is the track where I had my first Formula One race in 2006. As a driver you always have a special relationship with the track where you had your first Grand Prix.

“However, it is not for these reasons alone that I like this track. For most of the lap you have some steering angle, which means you rarely get a break, and this is made worse by the fact the straights are very short. The Hungaroring is a difficult track, but then Formula One is about challenges.”


At Renault, Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet will also have anniversaries in the back of their minds.

“I won my first Formula One race at this circuit with Renault in 2003 and it’s a place were I have always gone well,” the Spaniard said. “So I’m happy to go back there again this year and determined to bounce back after my result in Germany.”

The driver who did so well there, Piquet, is on a roll and has fond memories of the Hungaroring GP2 event in 2006.

“That was very special because I won the feature race on the Saturday from pole position and then the sprint race on the Sunday, as well as setting the fastest lap in both races,” he said. “It was definitely one of my best weekends in racing. It’s quite a rewarding track to drive if you can find a good rhythm and it seems to suit my driving style.”


Yet another man pondering anniversaries here is Jenson Button, whose sole Grand Prix success to date came in the rain at the Hungaroring in 2006.

"The Hungarian Grand Prix will always be a special race for me as the venue of my first win in Formula One but obviously I would much prefer to be going back with the chance to challenge for the win again,” he said. “The new parts which we tested in Jerez last week are a small step forward, so it will be interesting to see how this places us in the midfield pack for the race weekend.

“The Hungaroring circuit itself has a good rhythm and a nice mix of slow-speed and high-speed turns. A lap around the circuit is actually quite a challenge because there is no respite and no opportunity to relax your hands, so you are gripping the steering wheel hard the whole time. As a city, Budapest is fantastic and definitely one of the most exciting places that we visit during the Formula One season, with a great atmosphere during the Grand Prix weekend, both in the city and at the circuit.”

The Hungaroring changes throughout a race weekend. It begins dusty and cleans up gradually, so teams have to keep changing set-ups to keep up with its improvement. The possibility of the usual high temperatures and rain could add to the unpredictability of this weekend’s race.

Paddok Pics





Weekend weather update - unsettled conditions forecast





Welcome to the 11th round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring near Budapest. You might not believe it after the similar warnings in Canada, France, Britain and Germany, but for the fifth race in succession the weather could be unsettled this weekend.


It will be partly cloudy on Thursday with an ambient temperature high of 32 degrees Celsius. Showers are expected in the region on Friday, when the temperature will drop to 31, and thunderstorms are forecast on Saturday and Sunday when it will be 32 degrees again.


The race will run over 70 laps of the 4.381 kilometre (2.722 mile) circuit, or 306.663 kms (190.560 miles). It starts at 1400 hrs local time, which is two hours ahead of GMT.







Bridgestone on the challenges of the Hungaroring






The eleventh round of the 2008 FIA Formula One season takes place at the Hungaroring, a circuit located near to the Hungarian city of Budapest, and Bridgestone relishes the challenge of a circuit which presents a unique set of challenges.


“The Hungaroring is certainly a difficult circuit to master from a tyre perspective, and for a number of reasons,” says Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone Motorsport director of motorsport tyre development. “Because it is not an easy track, it is very rewarding to have a tyre that works well.”

Hungary is the slowest permanent race circuit that Formula One visits during the course of the season. Last season the pole position lap around the 4.38-kilometre circuit, after Fernando Alonso was handed a five place grid penalty, was a 1m 19.781s, set by Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren.

The highest speed achieved on a lap is set on the main start/finish straight where cars achieve around 290 km/h. This straight heads straight into the circuit’s slowest corner, Turn One, where cars have to slow to around 90 km/h to make it round the corner.


“The layout of the Hungaroring is tight and twisty,” explains Hamashima, “and the track surface is very smooth, meaning that we need to bring the softest two tyre compounds from our range.”

With the circuit surface in optimum condition grip is at a premium, but because the track is not used as much as most circuits that Formula One visits, the start of a race weekend is usually more difficult for competitors.


“Often we find the Hungaroring to be quite dirty and dusty for the practice sessions and this means that graining is far more likely to occur,” says Hamashima.

Tyre graining happens when the side-forces on the tyre cause the surface rubber to roll up and present a non-uniform contact patch with the road, which affects the grip level.


“Graining occurs on the front left tyre in particular at the Hungaroring, and it is more likely to happen when the track is dirty because understeer occurs as the tyres slide across the track surface.”

As the weekend progresses there should be less graining as a cleaner track with more rubber laid down makes for better grip. “Track conditions are certainly a variable at most tracks we visit, but in Hungary it is more pronounced than we see at most other circuits,” says Hamashima.

Despite the difficulties, this track has good memories for Bridgestone as it was at this venue, in 1997, that a Bridgestone shod car first led a race.


“In 1997 Damon Hill finished in second place in the Hungarian Grand Prix, in what was our first season in the sport, and only our eleventh Grand Prix. A Bridgestone driver had finished second before but to lead the race was very thrilling for us. It was an interesting event. Hill’s Arrows car suited this circuit and he had qualified in third place so we knew we were well placed and it was very nearly a race win.”

Hill’s pace was not just in qualifying. Even though his previous best qualifying position that season had been ninth place, and his best finish eighth, in Hungary he had the measure of his opposition and overtook rivals Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher to take the race lead.


“In our first season our tyres were performing better than expected,” says Hamashima. "However, our tyre performance was somewhat flattered in Hungary as the track requires a soft tyre, but our rival had perhaps gone too soft and they were suffering from blistering in the heat of the race. This was a valuable lesson for us and even though we were so close to having our tyres on the winning car of a Grand Prix it was still satisfying to lead for a while and finish in second place.”

[Dirtycheat]

This is bollocks.

Massa did everything right today, that move at the start was terrific. Very aggressive but fair. Thats what we need to see more of from massa; aggression.

Congrats to heikki, but if you ask me i dont really think he deserves it. He never really challenged anybody for anything.

what is it with ferrari? When the car is good the drivers fuck up and when the drivers are doing well the car fucks up.

[funkdoctorspock]

Massa is a bottler. He had over a 16 second lead and had a terrific start. He had no reason to have his engine revs so high during the close of the race.

Curious to see whether the Lewis haters find a way to put a spin on it to blame him for Massa's engine blowup.

In any event, Hamilton would have won this. He didn't have a great race, although coming back from 12th to 5th after friggin debris on the track cut his tyre was rather impressive.

Kudos for Kovalainen for being consistent throughout the race and getting the result and the same for Glock. He had a terrific race and hopefully Toyota can take this result to the 3 week break and improve upon it.

[Dirtycheat]

well to be honest, you usually tend to find debri when you actually run off the track.

The truth is Massa was 5 seconds ahead of hamilton before the puncture anyway and hamilton was loosing ground every lap for some reason. He seemed to be catching him up then when they started to run into traffic, lewis slowed down. Ah well....


Cant say i didnt expect you to blame massa for the fact that his engine blew up. How you can call him a bottler, i dont know. Its amusing listening to that to be honest.

Either way, it was a terrific performance by massa and even the massa haters have to applaud that move at the start of the race.


Still, im not sure if it will be enough to keep him at ferrari. Raikonen has had poor form in qualifying but he grinds out results in races, on top of that he has already proven that he can win championships. Alonso is definitely going into a ferrari next year (which will probably mean shumie stepping down from his post ) and only consecutive victories will save massa's bacon.

[Mark]

2008 - European Grand Prix Preview








Race Track Diagram:





Location: Valencia

Race Date: 24 Aug 2008

Number of Laps: 57

Circuit Length: 5.440 km

Race Distance: 310.080 km

Lap Record: n/a -



Last Year Table:

NONE!

f1.com text preview:

Valencia is alive with Formula One racing, with tangible excitement that the sport is taking to the bespoke course down by the famed port that has been home to the America's Cup races in recent years. The key word on everyone’s lips has been ‘urban’ rather than ‘street’, reflecting the wide nature of the track which so strongly differentiates it from Monaco.

It boasts 25 corners that snake around the Juan Carlos I Marina, offering fast, wide and sweeping bends and, it is hoped, several potential opportunities for passing. It is 14 metres wide at the minimum.

Official simulations estimate a top speed of more than 300 km/h at the end of the main straight and a lap time in the 1m 37s bracket, with an average speed around 200 km/h. That should put Valencia on a par with a venue such as Bahrain with its average of 214 km/h. By contrast, Monaco’s average is only 151 km/h.

Valencia will be the European Grand Prix’s fifth home since its inception in 1983, the others being Brands Hatch, the Nurburgring, Donington Park and Jerez.


Lewis Hamilton is raring to go and to preserve his world championship points lead after the surprise Ferrari and Felipe Massa handed out in Hungary.

"I already spend quite a lot of time between the races analysing the data and keeping fit. This summer break gave me the opportunity to get away from that and focus on just recharging my batteries,” the McLaren driver says. “Looking back at the season so far, it feels like a different championship compared to last year: 2007 was very intense and consistency was incredibly important. This year, everybody’s results have been more varied and every driver who has won a race has also failed to score on at least two other occasions. That’s made getting strong results even more important, but I think we’ll see consistency becoming crucial as we head towards the end of the season."


McLaren are no stranger to the city of Valencia, having launched the MP4-22 there last year, and everyone has tested at the old Ricardo Tormo circuit. “Going to a new circuit doesn’t really change my preparations: everybody’s in the same situation so I don’t treat things very differently,” Hamilton continues. “Of course, we’ve done some preparation back at the McLaren Technology Centre ahead of this race, but our main focus will still be the three free practice sessions ahead of qualifying. I’ll be working closely with my engineers to make sure we start the weekend with a good baseline and work hard to strengthen it as we go through the weekend. I enjoy visiting new race tracks and I’m looking forward to getting into the cockpit on Friday morning. It looks like being an amazing track."

Team mate Heikki Kovalainen, the winner in Hungary, says of the new track: “It looks pretty fast, to be honest. You get used to street circuits being quite slow, with lots of slow- to medium-speed corners and very short straights, but this is almost the opposite. There are a lot of fast kinks and esses, a couple of decent straights and lots of high-speed stuff. It’s too early to say yet whether there will be opportunities to overtake around here, but there are a couple of hairpins where it might be possible."


Ferrari will be looking for a more fruitful weekend than they enjoyed in Hungary and world champion Kimi Raikkonen knows he must rediscover his practice and qualifying form if they are to take maximum advantage of the expected hot conditions.

“We have to start well at Valencia, where it's more important than in other places to drive with continuity from Friday on,” says the Finn. “I hope I'll have a trouble-free weekend to try to set up the car the best way possible, especially for the qualifying lap. The qualifying will be extremely important, although I think that there are some possibilities on the track to overtake. If it's hot that will help Ferrari.”


Former 2008 winners BMW Sauber also need to bounce back from Budapest, where their pace mysteriously deserted them, but team principal Mario Theissen is optimistic that there is more to come from the F1.08.

"The short summer break after the race in Budapest has benefited everyone,” he says. “Now we are embarking on the remaining three European races and four overseas GPs with renewed vigour. Our aim is to continue on from the good results of the first half of the season. We still have a few arrows in our quiver.”


Further down the grid Force India will debut their new seamless-shift gearbox, a change they hope could bring them as much as three-tenths of a second per lap.

There are already indications that the circuit will be very dusty for the first day before it begins to ‘rubber-in’, and as in Budapest, that means drivers and engineers will be chasing set-up all through Friday’s crucial practice sessions. More than one engineer has remarked on the need to stay calm and let the track come to them rather than working the other way around.


Bridgestone have brought along their soft and super-soft tyres for the event, and regardless of who wins it will mark their 200th Grand Prix appearance since they came into the sport in 1997.


Teams will employ similar levels of downforce to Hockenheim, and the brakes will take a caning with three times each lap when drivers have to haul speeds down from 300 km/h to 80. That will put it on a par with Montreal, which is notoriously demanding in that area.

Paddok Pics





Weekend weather update - fine and settled conditions in Valencia





Welcome to the 12th round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, the inaugural Grand Prix of Europe at Valencia.


The weather is scheduled to be settled throughout the weekend, with partial cloud and an ambient temperature high around 34 degrees Celsius each day.


The race will run over 57 laps of the 5.440 kilometre (3.380 mile) circuit, or 310.080 kilometres (192.683 miles). It starts at 1400 hours local time, which is two hours ahead of GMT.

[Mark]

Massa takes Valencia pole

McLaren star to start from the front

Originally Posted by SS.com

Felipe Massa made history on Saturday when he became the very first F1 driver to take pole position at the new Valencia street circuit.

The Brazilian, who posted the fastest time of the weekend during Q1, continued his good run of form when he clocked a 1:38.989 during Q3 to take pole position away from Lewis Hamilton.

The McLaren driver posted a 1:39.199 to fall 0.210s short of Massa's time while Robert Kubica was third quickest for BMW.

Kimi Raikkonen was the only other driver to get within half a second of Massa's P1 time while sixth place on the grid goes to Heikki Kovalainen.


Not easy


Massa said: "You always want to be top, and to start from pole here for the first time is very nice.

"The track is not easy, it's slippery so a perfect