Felipe Massa made it three pole positions in succession around the Istanbul Park circuit in qualifying for this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix – and now he is aiming to make it three wins out of three too.
The Brazilian has been untouchable in Istanbul for the past three years, seeing off the threat of
Ferrari team-mate – and seven-time world champion –
Michael Schumacher to seal the maiden triumph of his Formula 1career there back in 2006, and repeating that success by withstanding team-mate
Kimi Raikkonen's challenge a year later. Though he may have defeated the dual McLaren-Mercedes bid in qualifying in 2008, he remains wary of a fight back during what promises to be an unpredictable race.
“I am very happy to have taken a third consecutive pole at this circuit,” the recently-turned 27-year-old enthused. “It is really motivating and it would be fantastic to do the same again tomorrow in the race.
“Driving this track is nice and fun, with turn eight being exceptional, although there are others that are also very tough. Today, the car was great and I got the most out of it. Tomorrow I will have to watch out for all those who are around me on the grid.
“It will be important to work out the best way to manage the tyres in the light of how the track will evolve and how the temperature changes. In Q2, I had a bit of traffic, but in Q3 I was able to do two completely trouble-free laps.”
World championship leader Raikkonen, for his part, was left ruing a less-than perfect session that will see him lining up only fourth, though as he bids to extend his current nine-point advantage in the drivers' standings, the Finn stressed not too much should perhaps be read into positions post-qualifying with different fuel loads at play.
“Obviously I would have preferred to have been further up the grid,” the 28-year-old admitted, “but this position is definitely not the end of the world. What matters is the race when the points are given out.
