Massa edges team-mate Schumacher to grab pole for Turkish GP

By Claas Hennig Aug 26, 2006, 13:52 GMT

Istanbul - Brazilian Felipe Massa Saturday edged out Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher to grab his maiden pole position for Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul.

Massa benefited from a mistake by Schumacher in the final session to clock 1 minute 26.907 seconds for the 5.338-kilometre Istanbul Park circuit.

That put him 0.377 ahead of Schumacher (1:27.284), who had dominated the day's practice and qualification until he ran wide during the final session.

The Ferrari one-two was nevertheless a major boost in the battle with the Renaults of overall leader Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichello who had to be content with the second row on the grid in third and fourth places respectively.

Alonso, the defending champion, trailed Massa by 0.414 seconds but the Spaniard said he was still optimistic of a good performance in Sunday's race, the 14th of 18 in the season.

'We got the maximum we could out of the qualifying and believe in our pace for the race. We have five races to go and have to race our own race,' said Alonso.

Alonso holds a 10-point lead over Schumacher in the drivers' championship but the German's performance Saturday indicated he was well placed to narrow the lead even further as he chases his eighth world title.

'It was a great job by Felipe today and I am happy to have him in the front,' he said.

Schumacher conceded a mistake in the final session when he ran wide on Turn One probably cost him the pole after he had dominated the previous sessions.

'I ran wide and aborted the first run to have the extra lap available, but it didn't really give us anything because the tyres are basically good for one lap,' he said.

Schumacher enjoyed provisional pole until a last lap by Massa saw the Brazilian grab the glory.

Massa was delighted with his maiden pole.

'It is a fantastic moment for me,' he said. 'I'm happy and surprised and this first pole will always be important. I am really happy. The team is doing a great job and I will never forget this moment.'

Germany's Nick Heidfeld in a BMW-Sauber will meanwhile start in sixth place, with Honda's Jenson Button of Britain sixth after fifth fastest Ralf Schumacher in a Toyota was demoted 10 places for an engine change.

Kim Raikkonen in a McLaren-Mercedes was in the fourth row on the grid alongside Poland's Robert Kubica in a BMW-Sauber.