After a very promising qualifying session here at the Bahrain International circuit this afternoon, the two Ferrari drivers find themselves on the first and second rows of tomorrow’s grid with Felipe Massa and new teammate Fernando Alonso finishing the third qualifying session in second and third places respectively.

It was a brilliant performance from Massa who is contesting his first race weekend since his horrendous accident at last season’s Hungarian Grand prix weekend.

“It’s great to get back to being so competitive after such a difficult time. It’s a good way to start the new season and a nice reward for all the work the team has done over the winter,” he said. “The race will be very difficult, but I am happy to be in with a chance of fighting for the top places.”

“Yesterday, we did good work in preparing for the race and I think we went in the right direction, but this is only the first Grand Prix and there are still many unknown factors to work out, for example, finding the right moment to change tyres.”

“Today, I gave it my all, doing a great lap on my last run, while the previous ones had not been so good. I wish to thank Sebastian for what he said about me at the start of the press conference. It pleased me a lot and shows the great respect that exists between we drivers.”

Teammate Alonso was also very happy with the day’s outcome and is pleased that the his debut season with the Scuderia has started on such a positive note....

“Up until today we did not have a clear reference as to how competitive we were: with our cars on the first and second rows we can be satisfied because it means our championship is getting off on a positive note. I am pleased with my qualifying debut for my new team,” he said.

“The F10 was strong in Q1 and Q2, but then Vettel managed to do better than us. On my last run I lost precious time in a couple of corners, losing a couple of tenths, which can happen when you are fighting for pole. I am not surprised to find Felipe ahead of me: he is my teammate and we all know how good he is round this track. We know we have a good car which we fine tuned during the February tests: today we showed its potential and now we have eight months of work to develop it.”

“It’s a good result, coming at the end of a very closely contested session,” added Stefano Domenicali. “I want to thank all the staff of the Gestione Sportiva, who have worked hard these past few months to try and close the gap to what were the top teams at the end of last season. At least today, we have returned to breathing in the air at the top of the pack, even if we are well aware that the final figures are only totted up on Sunday afternoon after the race. We can expect quite a long and tough race, during which the number one priority, as always, will be reliability: with such hot weather, cars, drivers and tyres will be put under a heavy strain. It will also be important to manage the race as well as possible, finding the right moment to change tyres. I think this is something of an unknown for everyone, given that we will be experiencing very different conditions to those we experienced in the February tests. I am very satisfied with the way Fernando has integrated himself within our team: it seems as though he has been with us for years rather than months. And I am delighted that Felipe’s return to racing will start from the front row of the grid: it is well deserved after everything he went through last year.”