MCLAREN-MERCEDES
Felipe Massa seemed in the hunt for pole position until the decisive Q3 segment, when Lewis Hamilton snatched top spot and the Brazilian qualified just fifth. "I'd go so far as to say that it was possibly the best lap of Lewis' career so far," said team boss Ron Dennis. Heikki Kovalainen is third.

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FERRARI
Massa has been on Hamilton's pace all weekend, so he is disappointed to be fifth on the grid. "I never had the right amount of grip in Q3," he lamented. Conversely, Kimi Raikkonen was not a contender at Fuji until the fuel-affected Q3, raising suspicions Ferrari is playing tactics for the race. "My aim is to help the team to win both championships," said the Finn.

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RENAULT
Like Kovalainen and Massa, Fernando Alonso did a 1.18.8 in Q3, and is fourth. Nelson Piquet was 4 tenths slower in Q2, when he failed to be among the fastest ten.

Source: GMM