It was the ninth pole for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in seventeen qualifying sessions run this season and the sixth for Felipe Massa.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was the toast of Interlagos on Saturday afternoon after taking his second successive pole position for his home Grand Prix. It was his sixth of the season. In a gripping shoot-out at the end of Q3, the Brazilian’s lap of 1m 11.931s just withstood an onslaught from championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who admitted that he lost a tiny bit of pace at the end of the lap rather than risk what he had already gained over the rest of it.

1m 12.082s was sufficient to push his McLaren ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who failed to improve on his 1m 12.322s best. The Finn will start third, ahead of McLaren’s Fernando Alonso who cut down to 1m 12.356s right at the end. It remains to be seen whether the respective gaps reflect the individual fuel loads. Behind them, Mark Webber was a surprise fifth on 1m 12.928s for Red Bull, his best position of the year, ahead of the BMW Saubers of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica (1m 13.081s and 1m 13.129s).

It was the ninth pole for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in seventeen qualifying sessions run this season and the sixth for Felipe Massa. This is the sixth time that a Ferrari driver will start the Brazilian Grand Prix from the top slot on the grid, the second in a row courtesy of Felipe, who brings his total of career poles to nine, boosting the Scuderia's all-time total to 195.

Jean Todt: "The final qualifying of the year has brought us our ninth pole in this championship, the sixth with Felipe, while Kimi, with a last lap that was a bit on the complicated side, takes third place which nevertheless sees him in a strong position for tomorrow's race. This season has been a snapshot of a special season that has witnessed a very close fight between us and our main rivals. We are well aware of the importance of the result of the Brazilian Grand Prix. As we have said we will do our utmost to the very last lap to try and get Kimi to take the Drivers' title for which he is still in the running. Felipe, who for various reasons is out of the running as a title contender, wanted to make his mark in some way on a season that has been very positive for him, setting a fantastic pole, in front of an exceptional Brazilian crowd that has always supported Ferrari with great affection. For Felipe, today's result is also a nice way for him to celebrate in front of his people the fact he now has a long term extension of his contract with the Scuderia."

Felipe Massa: "It's fantastic to be on pole again in front of my fans: to feel their affection and to see them celebrate in the stands is really amazing. The car was very competitive and I managed to get the most out of it. I hope to win tomorrow, but obviously I will do whatever is needed to help the team in its fight for the Drivers' title. I am sorry not to be fighting for it myself, but I think in any case I have had a good season."

Kimi Raikkonen: "Of course it would have been better to be on pole position but third place is certainly no bad thing and leaves me in a good position for tomorrow's race, also in light of the strategy we have chosen and the performance of the car. On my final flying lap, I lost precious time at turn 4 because of Hamilton: it is a real shame but there is no point in recriminations over what has happened. I am confident that I will be able to keep my chances alive right to the end."

Luca Baldisserri: "It was a great qualifying, with Felipe who drove a splendid lap in Q3. All weekend, our Brazilian has been strong and today that has been confirmed. Kimi was also very competitive: a shame that he had a few problems with traffic on his last run which cost him precious time. We can count on a good car, on two drivers in great positions on the grid and on a suitable strategy. We will try and get the best result possible and then do the maths at the end. Thanks in advance of the end of the championship to Shell for the invaluable technical support they have given us this year and indeed in the past."

Qualifying details: F. Massa: 1st 1.11.931 13 laps chassis 263; K. Raikkonen: 3rd 1.12.322 13 laps chassis 262; Weather: air temperature 29/32 °C, track temperature 46/47 °C, sunny.