After a slightly low-profile Friday, McLaren dominated Ferrari on day two at Spa-Francorchamps, Lewis Hamilton marginally trailing his teammate Heikki Kovalainen in Q1 and Q2 before taking an emphatic pole. "After Valencia we knew we had to improve and that's what we did," said the championship leader. Behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa, Kovalainen is third. "I didn't quite do enough to make it onto the front row," said the Finn, who looked disappointed despite apparently running a bit more fuel than Hamilton in Q3.

FERRARI

After looking quickest on Friday, Valencia winner Massa found himself chasing fellow title protagonist Hamilton's pace throughout qualifying. "I did a great lap, but it was not enough," said the Brazilian. Kimi Raikkonen has seemed slightly more competitive at his favourite circuit than at recent races, but the world champion is still the slowest of the 'big four' marquee runners. "Fourth place is far from ideal to go looking for the win, but it doesn't mean I've given up hope," he said.

BMW-SAUBER

If Nick Heidfeld is fighting to keep his seat for 2009, he won the battle at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday -- quickest of all in the morning practice drizzle, and out-qualified only by the 'big four' drivers. Robert Kubica is P8 on the grid, with team boss Mario Theissen insisting things are "just not right" for the Pole this weekend.

RENAULT

Third in the morning and P6 on the grid leaves Fernando Alonso "satisfied" with his weekend so far. Nelson Piquet (P12) was about half a second slower in Q2 so he missed the final top-ten segment.

RED BULL-RENAULT

David Coulthard was just 2 tenths slower than teammate Mark Webber in Q2, but the margin meant Webber make the Q3 cut and qualified a worthy seventh, while Coulthard is stranded P14 on the grid. "It's so tight in the midfield," the Scot noted.

TORO ROSSO-FERRARI

Of the STR duo, Sebastian Vettel usually has the most to cheer about, but after qualifying at the very top of the order in the Q1 segment, Sebastien Bourdais - fighting to keep his seat for 2009 - let his feelings be known as he whooped-up the in-car radio airwaves. "It was nice to see my name at the top of a timesheet. It's been a long time!" the Frenchman enthused after also going faster than Vettel in Q2 and Q3, although Vettel is definitely carrying more fuel for the start of the race. "It's beginning to come together. I feel this track and its corners suit me better," Bourdais added. Vettel's explanation for being behind his teammate this weekend was very much a backhanded compliment: "I was struggling a bit on those sections where the driver doesn't have to do much. I could not find the pace my teammate had," the German said.

TOYOTA

Jarno Trulli (P11) and Timo Glock (P13) were very evenly matched for pace in qualifying, but the TF108 wasn't fast enough to put them in the hunt for the top-ten. "We knew we would be struggling a bit today given these low temperatures," said Trulli, referring to the difficulty in getting heat into the harder compound tyres on a cold track. The Italian also explained after qualifying that, because the engine in his car was also used at Valencia, the handicap on the long straights at Spa is an incredible 4 tenths per lap. But technical boss Pascal Vasselon was surprised. "Obviously we got something wrong in our preparation work," he said.

WILLIAMS-TOYOTA

Kazuki Nakajima is having a poor weekend, and his 7 tenths deficit to teammate Nico Rosberg in Q1 leaves him on the very back row of the grid. "I just couldn't find any grip and I am still not able to understand why," said the Japanese. Rosberg (P15) at least made it into Q2, but was 6 tenths short of graduating into the final qualifying segment. "We knew Spa was not going to be our best track but being this far back is unexpected," said the German.

HONDA

The frustration in Jenson Button's eyes at Spa on Saturday was obvious, after his car broke down just a few hundred metres into morning practice and then qualified behind his teammate Rubens Barrichello. The unhurried RA108s did at least pull off the very last row of the grid, but remain among the Q1 rabble. "We have to be pleased with what we achieved today, particularly given that we have been pretty much at the bottom of the timesheets so far this weekend," said Barrichello.

FORCE INDIA-FERRARI

Split by Nakajima's Williams, the two Force Indias are at the back of the grid, but - propelled by the mighty Ferrari engine - not far off the pace of the struggling Hondas. "Tomorrow there is a good chance to move up some places," said Giancarlo Fisichella, who qualified last.

Share this article on your favourite social site