Massa upbeat for race despite no pole

Felipe Massa believes a small error at the end of his final flying lap cost him pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver lost out to BMW Sauber`s Robert Kubica by just 0.027 seconds, the Pole securing his and his team`s first Formula One pole position.

Massa had to settle for second place after going slightly wide near the end of his flying lap.

The Brazilian was disappointed to miss out on the top spot but, having been strong all weekend, he reckons he is in a good position for tomorrow`s race.

“Definitely I lost,” Massa said of his error. “I did incredible laps during the whole weekend and the car was perfect all the time.

“In Q3 it was the only time I was behind cars and I did the first try, which was a pretty good laptime as I was the whole lap behind Nico (Rosberg) and it was a shame as I managed to get a big gap and he got past me and I was behind him. And the second lap I was in traffic.

“It was a shame as I had a great car and I think we can be very strong tomorrow.”

Teammate Kimi Raikkonen will start from fourth place, behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

5.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Massa    ▪ www.autosport.com