UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > Massa shows Ferrari pace

Mixed up top ten promise

Qualifying for the European Grand Prix here at Valencia dawned with an unexpected twist – no, not the pace of the Toro Rosso, but the very real threat of rain with showers falling not far form the city and dark clouds gathering overhead.

The first session set off on a dry track with cars streaming out of the pits early on, and it was more of what we had seen in practice as the two Ferrari=powered STR cars showed their mettle among the big boys.

A late run by Sebastian Vettel – amen on form and at ease with himself these days – saw him pip Felipe Massa’s Ferrari for top spot, but then an even later run put another surprise name into the picture – Jarno Trulli, whose Toyota had stayed in the pits for the entire hour this morning but for a couple of exploratory laps thanks to a gearbox problem, banged in the first lap under the 1;38 mark to head the timesheets as the flag fell.

Eliminated – sadly – were the two force India cars of Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil, the little team having shown real progress over the weekend thanks in no small part to the debut of a seamless shift gearbox, but not enough to challenge for a spot in the second session.

Also gone at the end of the twenty minutes were the two Honda RA108’s, Jenson Button somewhat surprised having been on the pace all weekend, and Rubens Barrichello less so having struggled to find a balance, with the final departee being David Coulthard, another who had showed promise only for the Red Bull not to be up to it come the crunch.

The second session began under dull skies and a very light shower, but the times were not affected and we were soon treated to a sequence of stunning laps and a rapidly changing order.

Four men got under 1;38 in this session, the quickest of whom was the increasingly impressive Vettel. The STR2 seemed a completely different proposition here to its sister Red Bull, a point leading many – Mark Webber included – to question the relative performance of the Renault engine in comparison to the Ferrari unit.

This was not sour grapes from Webber – who missed out in this session by under a tenth, so close was the pack, but a genuine concern given that neither Fernando Alonso nor Nelson Piquet, the ‘works’ Renault runners, made the cut to the top ten cut off either.

Joining these three for an early bath were Kazuki Nakajima in the Williams and Timo Glock, who had looked on the ball all weekend but managed to get in the way of both Piquet and Heidfeld at the same time, a fact that may see him penalised between the time of writing and the beginning of the race.

Heidfeld has been an enigma this weekend – not on the pace of team mate Kubica over a single lap in any session so far – but turned in a stunning lap to join the sub-1:38 group, a time that matched that of Felipe Massa in second place, with the other men in that bracket being Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren and, again, Jarno Trulli.

The rain had abated by the start of the third session, and the teams clearly had a dilemma on their hands.

With the interlopers – STR – threatening to shake up the order, and the prospect of a race on a new street circuit making the appearance of the safety car somewhat more likely than on your average race weekend (despite, note, not one stoppage or notable accident in the four hours of running so far – credit to all there) fuel loads suddenly became paramount.

Notably, the McLaren boys were seen holding the fuel hose on Hamilton’s car for a suspiciously lengthy period prior to the off.

Any hopes of a surprise pole sitter evaporated when, at the end of the first round of laps, Felipe Massa put in a lap over half a second quicker than the next man, who happened to be his team mate Kimi Raikkonen. Two possible conclusions- either the Ferrari suddenly worked on a race fuel load, or the Ferrari was running on a lighter fuel load than those around it. I consider the latter the more likely, given that ole position may well be vital tomorrow.

Lewis Hamilton tried his best and failed, his second effort two tenths down on Massa who had clearly stormed to pole, and Vettel looked superb but blew his chance with a mistake on what may have otherwise been a front row lap.

A late quick lap by Robert Kubica put him on the second row, and slightly quicker than Raikkonen who again looks to have taken the slightly heavier Ferrari fuel load, while Heikki Kovalainen could manage only fifth and will start with Vettel alongside him.

If the difference between times in the second and third sessions are any indication, Toyota have given Jarno Trulli a boat load of fuel, and BMW likewise for Nick Heidfeld. This assumption is in line with past practice, too.

The fifth row goes to Nico Rosberg in the Williams, and to Sebastien Bourdais whose pace indicates that he, too, is his teams’ heavy runner.

An intriguing race in prospect, certainly, for any lightly fuelled cars may be at the mercy of what many consider a dead cert safety car, and those running heavier may benefit from any interruptions in the schedule. The stage could still be set for a surprise result, so keep your eyes on the cars with big red snarling bull painted on the side if that silver Mercedes comes onto the track, lights flashing.

Written: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:33:21