Turkish Grand Prix: Massa takes pole position

Brazilian Felipe Massa upstaged all his major rivals on Saturday when he grabbed pole in his Ferrari for Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix.

Brazilian Felipe Massa upstaged all his major rivals on Saturday when he grabbed pole in his Ferrari for Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix.

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The 26-year-old Latin American from Sao Paulo managed to hold off a fierce challenge from championship-leading British rookie Lewis Hamilton in the final minutes to grab the prime grid position.

It was Massa's second successive pole at the Istanbul Park circuit, situated 30km out of the capital city on the Asian side of the Bosphorous, and demonstrated his liking for the wide-open attack and the hot conditions.

He took pole and won last year's race and now has a perfect opportunity to relaunch his and Ferrari's challenge for the Formula One world championships this year with six races remaining.

Hamilton, in his McLaren Mercedes-Benz, was second fastest ahead of Massa's Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and defending double world champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso who was fourth for McLaren.

Poland's Robert Kubica was fifth in a BMW Sauber ahead of his team-mate German Nick Heidfeld.