French Grand Prix: Felipe Massa beats Lewis Hamilton to the pole

Felipe Massa will start on the pole at the French Grand Prix on Sunday, after beating Lewis Hamilton to the first spot.

French Grand Prix: Felipe Massa beats Lewis Hamilton to the pole In a rare occurrence this Formula 1 season, Ferrari will be the team starting from the pole position. The Italian team secured first and third spot for the start of the French Grand Prix on Sunday, after Felipe Massa stopped the clock at 1m 15.034s, and his teammate Kimi Raikkonen took third position with 1m 15.257s.

Lewis Hamilton with McLaren finished for second with 1m 15.104s. Fernando Alonso, also with McLaren, had an engine problem in the final sector and will start from 10th position.

The pole position would be a good chance for Felipe Massa to climb up on the driver standing, where he is currently 3rd with 39 points, behind Fernando Alonso with 48, and Lewis Hamilton leading with 58.

Winning the pole position made the bookmakers adjust their odds on Felipe Massa on winning the French Grand Prix. The Brazilian driver is now the favorite to win the French Formula 1 race with odds of 11/8, according to the U.K. online sportsbook Bet365 (new window). Lewis Hamilton has the odds 6/4, followed by Kimi Raikkonen 4/1. Despite his 10th position at the start, Fernando Alonso still has a good chance of winning the French GP and the odds on him are 14/1.

Visit Bet365 for the full list of odds on winning the 2007 French Grand Prix. The race starts on Sunday, July 1st, at 2:00pm local time, 8:00 am EST, at the Magny-Cours, France.

Published on 06/30/2007