If you know that fifteen places separate the two Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro drivers on the grid for tomorrow's curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix, then you also know that something went wrong with the team's assault on qualifying this afternoon. To deal with the negative side first, Felipe Massa will start the first of this year's races from sixteenth place on the eighth row of the grid, after a gearbox problem saw the Brazilian fail to complete the second part of qualifying. But the good news also has an historic element as it sees Kimi Raikkonen take his first ever pole position for Ferrari in his debut event for the team.

Our Finnish driver shares the front row with the reigning world champion, Fernando Alonso, who has of course taken the coveted "Number 1" to McLaren-Mercedes. With Nick Heidfeld third for BMW, reigning GP2 champion Lewis Hamilton an impressive fourth on his F1 debut with McLaren-Mercedes, Robert Kubica fifth for BMW with Giancarlo Fisichella completing the front three rows for Renault, these positions were a very accurate reflection of the pecking order seen throughout winter pre-season testing. There were a few surprises however, starting with the inside of row four where we find Mark Webber in seventh spot for Red Bull Racing, despite the fact the car was one of the last to be ready and had struggled a bit in testing. Most surprising though was the performance of the Super Aguri team, who were the undoubted tail-enders last year and have run consistently well all this weekend to end up with Takuma Sato tenth and Anthony Davidson eleventh.

Tomorrow will be the first race to see all cars running on Bridgestone since 2000. However, there is still an element of choice involved as each driver must at some point use his second choice of tyre during the race. Within Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, we might see Kimi and Felipe adopting different tyre strategies given the gap between them on the grid. The Scuderia's hoped for scenario for tomorrow afternoon in Albert Park is very straightforward: Raikkonen to have a straightforward race from the front, with Massa fighting through the field.

This will be the seventh time a Ferrari driver starts the Australian Grand Prix from pole and the 187th in the history of the Prancing Horse in Formula 1. For Kimi, this was his twelfth career pole.

Jean Todt: "A bitter sweet start to the first weekend of the 2007 Championship. On the one hand there is satisfaction with pole for our new arrival, Kimi Raikkonen, while on the other hand, disappointment because of the gearbox problem that affected Felipe Massa in Q2. Up to that point, he had driven impeccably all weekend. Today, Ferrari showed it has the potential to be a front runner on a day that confirmed the pecking order we had seen during winter testing. The key parameters for the race are now reduced to three- strategy, reliability and performance - given that everyone has the same Bridgestone tyres.
 

"Today, we had the performance but not the reliability. Now we have to work out how to get the most out of the sporting regulations, particularly the one concerning usage of the two types of tyre."

Kimi Raikkonen: "A great qualifying, but a shame for Felipe who was not able to get the sort of result he should have done. I think our car is more competitive in race trim than over a single lap. Usually here the race can be full of incidents so it's impossible to know what could happen. If all goes the way it should, then we have a good chance, but it will be important to pick up as many points as possible. Tonight? I will sleep well, as always. Am I worried about Felipe's gearbox problem? You can never be a hundred percent sure, but I am certain the team will do everything it can to make sure that I have a car in the best possible shape."

Felipe Massa: "What happened in qualifying with the gearbox was a shame, given the good car we had and the strong performance yesterday and today. So, we have to hope that this is the first and last time it happens this season. Tomorrow, my main aim will be to bring the car to the finish, trying to move up the order as much as possible. I am still confident because I know we have a car that is very good in terms of race pace. Of course it will be difficult to finish in the top places, but I will give it my best to at least try and finish in the points, going for every opportunity that comes my way."

Luca Baldisserri: "A great qualifying from Kimi, straight to pole on his debut with us. His car performed faultlessly as was his driving. However, we are very disappointed for Felipe who, because of a gearbox problem, was pretty much unable to take part in qualifying. Already, at the end of free practice we had seen that there was a faulty component on the F2007's gearbox and, as a precaution it was changed. Unfortunately, the problem reoccurred, which forced him to stop at the side of the track. Now we must look at the situation carefully to see how to remedy it and to try and make the best of Felipe's start position which is definitely not up to our expectations. As for Kimi, we will try to make the most of pole position, in the knowledge that we can expect a tough race, where reliability, strategy and team work will be, as usual, crucial."

Qualifying session: K. Raikkonen: 1st 1'26'072 chassis 260; F. Massa: 16° - chassis 261; Weather: air temperature 22/20 °C, track temperature 35/37 °C, dry track, clear skies.