Brazilian Felipe Massa celebrated with unbridled joy after claiming pole position in his Ferrari for Sunday’s season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on his home city circuit at Interlagos.

But while he leapt from his car and punched the air, it was a different story for his retirement-bound Ferrari team-mate seven-times champion German Michael Schumacher.

Having dominated much of the action in the two mini-sessions earlier in the hour, Schumacher looked certain to take pole for his final race, but was then struck by reported fuel-pressure problems. He was left to watch the session from inside the Ferrari garage.

Though he managed one slow lap in his Ferrari, the 37-year-old German was forced to pit and did not rejoin the fray, leaving his championship rival, defending drivers’ champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso to take a comfortable fourth place on the grid in his Renault.

Massa clocked the fastest lap in one minute and 10.680 seconds ahead of Ferrari-bound Finn Kimi Raikkonen, who will be his team-mate next season, in a McLaren Mercedes-Benz, with Italian Jarno Trulli third for Toyota.

Alonso was fourth, Brazilian Rubens Barrichello was fifth for Honda and Italian Giancarlo Fisichella sixth in the second Renault. Schumacher was 10th fastest and will start the race on the fifth row of the grid, making the prospect of a victory remote.

Schumacher needs to win the race and hope that Alonso fails to score a point if he is to win an unprecedented eight title while Ferrari need to outscore Renault by 10 points to win the constructors’ championship.

Despite Schumacher’s problems, Massa was obviously delighted to take pole and boost his prospects of being the first Brazilian to win his home race since Ayrton Senna in 1993.

“It was definitely great to be on pole for my home Grand Prix, I did a very, very good lap,” said Massa. “I was lucky to get a tow from Nick (Heidfeld) but I might have lost some time in the final corner, we need to see if we lost some time there.

“The car is fantastic, the tyres are working really well with the sunshine. It is great to be here at home on pole position. In Q2 I made a mistake in the final sector, but I feel fantastic to be here. I dreamed as a kid of being here so I am happy.

“You see the people around raising their hands and when you stop to make the start, you can hear them, you see the crowd. The Brazilian people are hot about F1, they enjoy it a lot, and pole position for me is fantastic. I think it gives even more motivation to win the race tomorrow.”

Schumacher had been fastest in the second session of the knockout format but failed to complete a timed lap in the final shootout for pole position and will start from 10th place.

Technical director Ross Brawn told German television there was a problem with the fuel pressure.

“Michael was not lucky today, he was not lucky in the last two races,” said Massa. “Anyway he has a strong car for tomorrow, for sure he will fight a lot for his race and hopefully we will finish 1-2. We are still fighting for the constructors’ championship, nothing is finished yet for him.”

P. No Driver Team - Engine Tyres Times Ave/Gaps

1. 6 MASSA Ferrari B 1′10″680 219.474 Km/h
2. 3 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1′11″299 217.568 Km/h
3. 8 TRULLI Toyota B 1′11″328 217.480 Km/h
4. 1 ALONSO Renault M 1′11″567 216.754 Km/h
5. 11 BARRICHELLO Honda M 1′11″619 216.596 Km/h
6. 2 FISICHELLA Renault M 1′11″629 216.566 Km/h
7. 7 R.SCHUMACHER Toyota B 1′11″695 216.367 Km/h
8. 16 HEIDFELD BMW Sauber M 1′11″882 215.804 Km/h
9. 17 KUBICA BMW Sauber M 1′12″131 215.059 Km/h
10. 5 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 0′00″000
11. 9 WEBBER Williams Cosworth B 1′11″650 216.502 Km/h
12. 4 DE LA ROSA McLaren Mercedes M 1′11″658 216.478 Km/h
13. 10 ROSBERG Williams Cosworth B 1′11″679 216.415 Km/h
14. 12 BUTTON Honda M 1′11″742 216.225 Km/h
15. 15 DOORNBOS RedBull Ferrari M 1′12″591 213.696 Km/h
16. 20 LIUZZI Toro Rosso Cosw. M 1′12″861 212.904 Km/h
17. 21 SPEED Toro Rosso Cosw. M 1′12″856 212.919 Km/h
18. 19 ALBERS Midland Toyota B 1′13″138 212.098 Km/h
19. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Ferrari M 1′13″249 211.776 Km/h
20. 22 SATO S. Aguri F1 Honda B 1′13″269 211.718 Km/h
21. 23 YAMAMOTO S. Aguri F1 Honda B 1′13″357 211.464 Km/h
22. 18 MONTEIRO Midland Toyota B 0′00″000

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