Pole gives Massa first taste of Turkish delight.

Felipe Massa claimed his first Formula One pole position after heading Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher in qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park.

Although the German had blitzed the second part of the new-for-2006 qualifying procedure, he was unable to replicate his dominance when it really mattered, allowing younger team-mate Massa a shot at top spot, which he duly took with his second flying lap. Massa had earlier headed the opening 15-minute segment, but had dropped to fourth in part two, suggesting that Schumacher had more pace in his car on what is fast becoming a favourite circuit among the drivers.

The German stuttered in the final shoot-out, however, twice running out of road at turn one, and posted a slow first sector on his final effort that, despite still leading to provisional pole, allowed Massa a chink of light to aim at. The Brazilian duly posted an improvement to his own first flier as the chequered flag was being prepared, and was rewarded with his first pole since joining the F1 firmament.

Whether Massa is allowed a second bite of Turkish delight remains to be seen, however, with Schumacher - the man in title contention - lining up alongside him on the grid. Paddock wisdom suggests that the German may just get the better of his team-mate early in the race, leaving Massa to play rear-gunner to defend his lead from those behind.

Expected to take immediate aim at the Ferraris will be the two Renaults, which annexed row two despite being forced to run without the controversial mass damper system, which was officially banned in the run-up to the weekend. Points leader Fernando Alonso and team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella both took turns in P1 as the session heated up, but were relegated by Massa's first flying effort, and failed to dislodge either Ferrari thereafter.

Instead, Alonso and Fisichella found themselves in a frenetic battle for third, which also involved Kimi Raikkonen, in the sole McLaren to make the cut, Jenson Button - likewise running solo for Honda - and Ralf Schumacher, the German facing a ten-place drop on whatever position he achieved and determined to salvage as much as possible.

The names in P3 changed on a regular basis in the final moments, with each of the contenders appearing to have a shot before the spot eventually fell to Alonso, who bounced back up the order in the closing minute. The Spaniard was ably backed up by Renault team-mate Fisichella, despite the Italian complaining of engine problems in his R26.

Ralf Schumacher completed the top five, but the only Toyota to make it into the final ten will have to start 15th after losing an engine earlier in the day. The German's disappointment, however, was good news for countryman Nick Heidfeld, who will inherit the inside of row three for BMW Sauber. Heidfeld was joined in the top ten, for the second race in a row, by rookie team-mate Robert Kubica, the Pole reprising his Hungaroring efforts by making the final cut and then landing ninth spot on the grid, which will become eighth once Ralf is demoted.

Kubica did not have quite enough for either his team-mate, Button or Kimi Raikkonen, who all proved closely matched in the positions immediately ahead of him, but comfortably out-paced Mark Webber, who ended the session tenth fastest, but well off the pace of the other nine contenders having opted for a different fuel strategy.

With the midfield having become well-matched in recent races, it was no surprise to see several 'names' miss the cut at the end of the second session, the list this weekend being headed by Rubens Barrichello, Pedro de la Rosa and Jarno Trulli.

Trulli and Barrichello came up short on their final efforts, right at the end of the second segment, while de la Rosa appeared to be baulked late on his last-ditch lap, both men failing to improve and dropping further into the mire as Christian Klien and Kubica improved. The Austrian and Pole then swapped places in the final seconds, with Klien finding himself a couple of tenths shy of making the cut, ironically kept out of the top ten by Webber, the man who will replace him at Red Bull Racing next season.

The Australian's Williams team-mate, Nico Rosberg, also missed the cut, claiming a disappointing 15th spot after admitting to a late set-up change, while Midland's Christijan Albers - who had consigned David Coulthard to an early exit - rounded out the top 16. The Dutchman, however, will join Schumacher Jr in dropping places on the final grid, the victim of a third engine failure in as many race weekends..

Coulthard was the biggest name to miss the cut in first qualifying, as Albers continued to push right to the end of the 15-minute opening session, dumping DC into the bottom six with seconds left on the clock. Although the Red Bull driver was able to complete his lap after the chequered flag had fallen, he came up short and could not climb higher than 17th on the timesheets. He thus joined fellow Red Bull-backed drivers Scott Speed and Tonio Liuzzi in the bottom six, both Toro Rosso drivers struggling for pace in their V10-powered cars, despite a recent rev adjustment to give them more power in qualifying.

Albers' Midland team-mate Tiago Monteiro also missed the cut, despite setting the pace early in a slow-starting session. The two Super Aguris completed the list of early departures, disappointingly failing to out-pace the Midlands as they had in practice. Sakon Yamamoto at least had the pleasure of out-qualifying team-mate Takuma Sato, after the more experience Japanese driver suffered an off at the notorious turn eight.