Indian GP – Ferrari: Strategic qualifying, Massa 5th and Alonso 8th

At the end of a qualifying session which at times seemed like a real chess game, Scuderia Ferrari took fifth position with Felipe Massa and eighth place with Fernando Alonso. The two F138s will face tomorrow's Grand Prix starting with two different strategies: Massa achieved his time using Soft tyres, while Alonso chose to fit Medium tyres, the same ones he will be able to line up with at the start of the race.

Massa began his qualifying session by covering an initial seven-lap run on Medium tyres. However, the time was not enough to guarantee him passage to the next round, and two minutes from the end the Brazilian driver took to the track again with Soft tyres, obtaining the fourth fastest time, lapping in 1'25”793. Alonso immediately focused on the Soft compounds, achieving a time of 1'25”934 on his first attempt which earned him passage into Q2.

The two F138s immediately returned to the track at the start of the second session, using the same tires fitted in the final stages of the Q1 session. Three minutes from the end all the cars left the pits with a new set of Soft tyres. Alonso achieved the second fastest time with a time of 1'24"885, while Massa reached his goal of the top ten by setting the ninth time in 1'25"389.

In the last session Alonso took to the track with Medium tyres, achieving a time of 1'25”826. The Spaniard kept the same compound for the second 'run' too, failing to improve his time. Massa left the pits only once, using a new set of Soft tires and obtaining the fifth overall time in 1'25”201. Pole position went to Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull, with a time of 1'24”119.