MCLAREN-MERCEDES
Heikki Kovalainen took a turn at the top of the morning timesheet, but Lewis Hamilton's consistently quicker qualifying pace netted him pole position over Ferrari's Felipe Massa. Kovalainen was just a couple of tenths shy in Q1 and Q2, but some self-confessed "rally-crossing" leaves him P3.

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FERRARI
It's been a bad weekend so far for Kimi Raikkonen; consistently slower not only than teammate Massa, but in qualifying also the two McLarens and the interlopers Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso. "All weekend we have been struggling a bit to find a good setup," the world champion said.

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TOYOTA
Jarno Trulli was very happy with his last-gasp Q3 effort, netting him fourth on the grid. Timo Glock set exactly the same time as Trulli in Q1, but then failed to make the cut for the final ten runout. "There was no doubt he had the potential to be there," team official Pascal Vasselon said.

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RENAULT
Nelson Piquet was less than three tenths slower than Fernando Alonso in Q1, but it was enough to leave him stranded in P17, and his complaint about Sebastian Vettel blocking him was also thrown out by the stewards. Alonso pushed on to an impressive P5. "We are confident we have a competitive fuel load," said team official Pat Symonds.

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BMW-SAUBER
Robert Kubica had a bad morning with a driveshaft failure, but raced through all three qualifying sectors - despite being blocked by Giancarlo Fisichella's Force India in Q1 - for P7. Local driver Nick Heidfeld, wearing a special white helmet, was shaking it as he was pushed back into the garage after Q2. "I messed it up," the German said, admitting to a couple of mistakes on his second run, despite showing better pace than Kubica in Q1.