Massa predicts stronger race for Ferrari

Massa took pole position with championship-leading teammate Michael Schumacher alongside on an all-Ferrari front row.

While Schumacher moved a step closer to an unprecedented eighth world championship before retirement, his Renault title rival Fernando Alonso qualified only fifth.

Massa, who scored his second F1 pole position today, believes the Bridgestone tyres could give them a further edge in tomorrow's race.

"I managed to do a good lap and we need to talk a lot about the tyres and the car, which is behaving very well at the moment. It is nice to be here and I am happy to be on pole," said the Brazilian.

"If you see that we are always leading in the dry and here we are all three with Bridgestone tyres, we are looking very strong here not just for qualifying but also for the race.

"You never know what is going on with the others, you just push as hard as you can to do the best lap you can. It was a good lap with no mistakes. driving on the limit and I just managed to do a great lap. That is really fantastic. I am pretty sure that we can be even stronger in the race.

"For sure we need to think about the whole race. The start is important as you can lose positions. You need to think about the whole race. I am really open to help Ferrari to win both championships, everything is open and I am really motivated to celebrate both championships at the end of the year."

There was some controversy during qualifying as Massa ran ahead of Alonso in the final session, with the Renault driver trying to pass the Brazilian as he seemed to be faster.

Alonso was penalised in Italy over a similar situation, but the rules have changed since then, only penalising drivers who intentionally block their rivals.

Alonso said: "He was just going a bit too slow for the laptimes we were trying to do and I was just trying to pass him."

Massa played down the incident, however.

"On the first lap he was behind me, but then I pulled away. That is qualifying. This year is always a little bit like this," said Massa.