Hamilton disappointed as Massa takes third Istanbul pole

May 10, 2008, 14:06 GMT

Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa of Ferrari (C), British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton (R) and Finnish Heikki Kovalainen of McLaren Mercedes attend the press conference after qualifying session in Istanbul, Turkey on 10 May 2008. Massa got pole, Hamilton second and Kovalainen third position. The Formula One Grand Prix of Turkey will take place at the Istanbul Park circuit on 11 May. EPA/FELIX HEYDER

Istanbul - Ferrari driver Felipe Massa on Saturday managed to secure his third pole in a row for Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix.

Massa, who won the last two races in Istanbul, posted a time of one minute 27.617 seconds for the 5.338-kilometre-long course, beating McLaren-Mercedes' Heikki Kovalainen into second place.

It was Massa's 12th pole of his career and the Brazilian said he was looking forward to the race.

'This is a fantastic track for me. I have a lot of pleasure to drive here, I really enjoy coming here. I am looking forward to Sunday and I am hoping to have best race possible.

'Our competitors are quite strong. They are quite close and it will not be easy, but it would be fantastic to repeat the results of the previous races.'

Kovalainen, who will be starting from the front row for the first time in his career, was only earlier this week cleared after a medical check to race in Sunday's race after a horrific crash during the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago.

'It has been a bit of a roller-coaster two weeks for me. I was very lucky to survive the crash without injuries. Coming here I knew I would pass the medical as I was feeling fine. I would not have come here if not felt normal.'

The Finn said that he made the right choice in tyres. 'The choice of tyres is tricky, it is very difficult to make up your mind. Hopefully I made the right choice, it seems like it, but we will see in the race.'

Kovalainen's team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, who was third ahead of the championship leading Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari, said that he was disappointed with his qualifying.

'It was a tough qualifying session. I think I made the wrong decision with my tyres. The first lap in the final session was terrible, the second one was an improvement, but it was not quick enough.'

He was still optimistic for the race though.

'I think we have a good package and we should be able to push Ferrari,' said the Briton.

The third row on the grid belongs to BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica and Red Bull's Mark Webber, who will start ahead of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in a Renault and Toyota's Jarno Trulli.

The final places in the top 10 belong to Nick Heidfeld in a BMW and the second Red Bull of David Coulthard.

Ferrari have a commanding lead the drivers' standings. They have 47 points, while BMW are on 35. McLaren are a point behind.

After Super Aguri's withdrawal from the championship earlier this week, just 10 teams with 20 drivers went into Saturday's qualifying. This resulted in a slight format change, with five, instead of six, drivers being eliminated in the first two sessions.