Current championship leader Lewis Hamilton managed to split the Ferraris in his McLaren as he joins Massa on the front row, with Kimi Raikkonen third ahead of Fernando Alonso.

Massa won his first race here from pole last year, but until the closing 15-minute session had barely been in the running as Raikkonen, Alonso and Hamilton all appeared quicker.

At least on this occasion there was no controversy to mar qualifying as was the case at the last grand prix in Hungary.

Hamilton's decision to disobey team orders and not allow Alonso by at the start of Q1 led to the reigning world champion deliberately blocking the 22-year-old Briton and incurring a grid penalty.

The duo then fell out with one another, but cleared the air in a face-to-face meeting on Thursday, with both claiming the matter is now in the past and they have buried the hatchet.

Unlike at the Hungaroring when Alonso set off immediately behind Hamilton, the two drivers were comfortably spaced.

Hamilton was second out on the track for the final 15minute run, with Alonso last of the drivers competing in the top-10 shoot-out.

But despite that advantage for Alonso, he failed to make it pay and potentially faces a tough battle to close the seven-point gap on teammate Hamilton.