Motor Sport: Ferrari Take Pole

Felipe Massa ended McLaren's run of three successive poles after clinching top spot for Ferrari in qualifying for the French Grand Prix. The Brazilian, who currently trails Lewis Hamilton by 19 points in the drivers' standings, has the 22-year-old Briton alongside him on the front row, with Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen third.

As for Hamilton's closest title rival, his own team-mate Fernando Alonso, the reigning double world champion will start 10th after falling foul of a suspected gearbox problem.

Lewis Hamilton said he was happy with second on the grid. The rising star said: "I am the rookie and this is my first season. "A lot of the drivers understand I'm still the rookie but, as you go through the season and they see you are doing a good job, then the respect builds and grows. "I think they obviously know I'm a rookie and they probably expect me to make a mistake at some point, but I'm here to prove them wrong."

Massa, who is close friends with Hamilton, retorted: "We cannot see him as a rookie. We've never seen a guy leading the championship in his first year, so for sure he is no longer a rookie." As for the possibility of Hamilton making a rare mistake, Massa added: "That would be good, especially tomorrow. I will be very happy."

McLaren have started to show signs of a few mechanical problems this weekend, with Hamilton missing half an hour in first practice yesterday as his engine was running too cool.

In practice today, Alonso missed all but the last few minutes of the hour-long session as mechanics replaced the brake-sensor system. Then, at the start of Q3, the 25-year-old Spaniard did not emerge from the garage, giving Alonso his lowest qualifying position since September's Italian Grand Prix.

Hamilton, though, is unconcerned by the gremlins, insisting: "At least one of us is up there and can fight for some points, but I am not worried by what happened to Fernando. "I don't focus on anybody but myself but, as a team, we always need to push hard for reliability. This is a sign for us to push even more."

Ferrari have clearly pushed themselves since the race at Indy, yet Hamilton remarked: "Everyone makes improvements and steps forward. "Ferrari have done that, but I still believe we have the best car and we just have to prove that tomorrow."

Behind Raikkonen in third comes Robert Kubica for BMW Sauber, followed by the Renaults of Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen. Nick Heidfeld is seventh in the second BMW Sauber, with Jarno Trulli eighth in his Toyota, while the Williams of Nico Rosberg is ninth. Jenson Button is 12th in his Honda, with David Coulthard 16th due to a problem with his Red Bull, while Anthony Davidson starts 19th for Super Aguri.