Felipe Massa is confident his qualifying prowess will reap dividends in the Monaco Grand Prix next weekend, as the
F1 circus readies itself for the most glamorous race on its schedule – as well as the one in which it is most difficult to overtake.
The
Ferrari star – joint second in the drivers' standings following the opening five races of the 2008 campaign – has the best average qualifying record of any driver so far this year, with a brace of pole positions and not once lining up outside the leading two rows on the grid. With passing very much at a premium around the narrow, winding, tortuous streets of the Principality, that could just be an unassailable advantage.
"We have seen that qualifying is so important," the Brazilian affirmed, "so vital to what happens on Sunday, but I would not say my pole position lap [in Istanbul] was my best qualifying of the year. There was Bahrain where I did a fantastic qualifying lap, having a very heavy car and setting the second-fastest time, and I also had a great qualifying in Malaysia to take pole there as well.
"To be honest, I feel quite strong in qualifying in general. If you look at my past record, qualifying has always been good for me, so I think the one in Turkey was just one of a series of good performances."
Those 'good performances' would continue on race day in Istanbul, as Massa saw off the challenge of McLaren-Mercedes ace
Lewis Hamilton and comfortably outpaced team-mate and defending world champion
Kimi Raikkonen to take the chequered flag first – in so doing securing his third successive Turkish Grand Prix triumph, and catapulting himself into the title fight following a distinctly shaky start to the season.
"A Turkish hat trick!" he enthused. "That was a weekend to remember for a very long time. When you win three times in a row, it says something is special between you and a circuit.
