Massa on pole as Hamilton falters

Nov 02, 2008 Sports

Felipe Massa gained a crucial advantage over world title rival Lewis Hamilton as he took pole position for Sunday’s title-deciding Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver set a benchmark of one minute 12.368 seconds but Hamilton could not match it and finished almost half a second behind in fourth. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli collected second ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
Hamilton has a seven-point lead in the title race which means Massa must win or finish second to deny him the title. But even if Massa wins, Hamilton only needs to finish fifth for McLaren to become Britain’s first world champion since Damon Hill in 1996 and the youngest ever in the history of the sport.
Hamilton and his McLaren team are determined not to jeopardise his title chances for the second season running in Brazil. The 23-year-old arrived at Interlagos in 2007 with a seven-point advantage over Raikkonen only to see the title slip through his fingers in a dramatic race.
Hamilton ran wide on his first lap trying to unnecessarily pass then team-mate Fernando Alonso before a freak gearbox problem left him at the back of the field. Though he recovered to seventh, Raikkonen took the chequered flag and with it the championship by a single point.
With Massa perfectly positioned for victory in Sao Paulo, there is a real danger that the world title could once again elude Hamilton.
“I will try to do my best to win the race, which is the most important thing,” said Massa, who claimed his third successive pole in Sao Paulo. “It’s a great start to the weekend. We have 71 laps ahead of us which is pretty long, but it is always better to start at the front.
“It’s so nice to make the third pole in Brazil in front of my people; it’s difficult to describe but it’s a dream come true. “The pressure is all on his (Hamilton’s) shoulders because I have nothing to lose.”

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