F1: Barcelona Qualifying finishes Finns

In final practice this morning, Ferrari were first and second quickest, leading to commentators being very determined to talk of a comeback for the team. And it seemed as if that might be so, when Massa brought his car around fastest in Q1. Yesterday, Kimi's car had more problems with its KERS system. Is it still playing up? No doubt there will be news later.

In Q2, Barrichello came up quickest in the light-running session. Massa, however, flagged but at least was in the top ten: Hamilton completed the McLaren misery by failing to make it to Q3.

And in Q3, Massa again surprised by dragging his Ferrari up to P4. As the only car in the top 10 with KERS this weekend, he will no doubt try to leapfrog Button and Vettel in pole and P2 respectively. Massa should have little trouble out-dragging P3 man Barrichello into the first corner in tomorrow's race.

The startling point out of today's qualifying is just how little difference there is between the front and the back of the grid. It's not so many years ago that the tail enders were so slow compared to the front runners that they were kicked out of the race if they failed to qualify within 107% of the pole time.

In Barcelona, the first-to-last difference was just over one second with a pole time of just over one minute twenty seconds. 7% of that is about five and three quarter seconds.

Ferrari's Aldo Costa told a press conference on Friday that the team was committed to KERS but that it provided a weight disadvantage to Kimi. As a result, the team has developed a special, lighter, chassis for the Finn.