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Ferrari's first Monaco pole in 8 years
Sun, May 25, 2008 The Straits Times
Monaco - Before the Monaco Grand Prix, Felipe Massa said he did not like driving around the streets of Monaco much. The Ferrari driver will probably change his mind now. Yesterday, the Brazilian led a 1-2 Ferrari finish in qualifying. Massa, who has won two of the last three Formula One races, gave Ferrari their first pole in Monaco in eight years after setting a best lap of 1min 15.815sec around the famous street circuit.

'I managed to put everything together and learnt some tricks on some corners. I can't believe I'm on pole.'

Teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who won in Monaco for McLaren in 2005, will start on the front row for today's race, with McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen filling the second row.

Ferrari have not won from pole since Jody Scheckter in 1979. They are looking for their first win in eight years at the coastal principality since Michael Schumacher took the chequered flag.

'I knew McLaren would be able to improve a bit, but I improved a lot. I drove a perfect lap,' said Massa, who clinched his second straight pole and third of the season.

'Tomorrow will be difficult. The rain can come any time, and the race in Monaco is the hardest.'

Showers are expected for the race itself which, in dry conditions, is usually determined by the fastest qualifier - making yesterday's session so important.

'If there is rain, there is a much bigger chance to get by,' said Raikkonen, who leads Massa and Hamilton by seven points in the overall standings.

'I think we have a good car for the race.'

Ferrari have been focused on Monaco since Massa finished over a minute behind McLaren pair Fernando Alonso and Hamilton last year.

'The team did a great job on the preparation for Monaco,' Massa said.

'Straightaway after last year's race we started working on the idea for the year after. For sure it was a good move and from Thursday we had a better car.'

Robert Kubica continued his consistent season for BMW Sauber and will start from fifth, ahead of Nico Rosberg of Williams.

AP

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