Felipe Massa upstaged Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher to take the pole position yesterday during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Schumacher, with a possible Formula One title on the line in today's race, was second, while reigning world champion Fernando Alonso starts from fifth position.
Schumacher and Alonso are tied atop the driver's standings with 116 points after 16 races.
PHOTO: AP
Schumacher, who will retire after this season, could wrap up his eighth world title if he wins today and Alonso drops out or finishes scoreless. Otherwise, the championship will be decided in the final race in Brazil.
Massa indicated he is open to helping Schumacher toward the world title without being ordered to by his team, which is prohibited.
"For sure I am open to Ferrari winning both championships. We are here for that," Massa said. "And I am working hard to achieve that."
The German can expect Massa to let him through for maximum points at one of the Ferrari great's favorite circuits, where he has won six times before.
"I'm pretty happy where I am and he did a great job," said Schumacher. "We are not fighting that much against each other, we are working together and therefore I'm happy it's him."
Schumacher leads Alonso 7-6 on race wins in the standings. The German driver drew even on points with his sensational victory in China last weekend.
Asked if he expected Massa to move over for Schumacher, Alonso had a simple answer: "Yes."
Alonso's Renault team is a point ahead of Schumacher's Ferrari outfit in the constructors' championship at 179-178.
"This result is okay, I think," Alonso said, trying to put a positive spin on the day's events.
"Of course the position is not ideal for the championship fight, but we have seen big turnarounds already this season. There is nothing to say it cannot happen again tomorrow," he said.
Schumacher didn't see things quite that way.
"We are looking strong, we are in the front row and the Renaults are in the third row," he said.
"It's been a great weekend so far for us," he said. "We are looking strong, we are on the first row and we have the Renaults on the third row and that's a very good starting place for the race."
Alonso should be able to keep the title battle alive until the race in Brazil on Oct. 22 but the Spaniard could do without having Schumacher's younger brother Ralf and Toyota team mate Jarno Trulli acting as a potential buffer between him and the man he has to beat.
Renault -- a point clear of Ferrari in the constructors' championship -- and partners Michelin were left reeling as the Bridgestone teams flexed their muscles on a sunny afternoon at the Japanese tire maker's home circuit.
Ferrari -- winners of six of the last seven races -- and Toyota both use Bridgestone tires, while Alonso was the leading Michelin driver.
"The weekend was supposed to be dry from today on ... so we are looking pretty confident in that area and we see on the Bridgestone side that we are very strong and so are the Toyotas," Schumacher said.
Alonso has his team mate Giancarlo Fisichella alongside in sixth place.
Honda's Briton Jenson Button and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello filled the row behind with Germany's Nick Heidfeld ninth in a BMW Sauber and compatriot Nico Rosberg 10th for Williams.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens homered on Wednesday as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh drove in three runs for the Phillies, who on Monday claimed their first National League East title in 13 years. Coupled with the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. The Phillies owned the tiebreaker with the Brewers after winning the season series against the
RSS