LEWIS Hamilton starts tomorrow's Brazilian Grand Prix from second on the grid in his bid to become the first driver to win the title in his debut season.
Hamilton, 22, aiming for his fifth win of the year, finished 0.15 seconds behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa in qualifying.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, third in the drivers' standings, will start from the second row at Interlagos.
Fernando Alonso, who can take his third successive title if he wins with Hamilton third or lower, starts fourth.
Hamilton, 22, will become Britain's first world champion since Damon Hill 11 years ago if he wins, or comes second, in his McLaren.
Scot David Coulthard will start tenth in his Red Bull-Renault. Of his fellow Brits, Jenson Button will start his Brackley-built Honda in 16th place, while Anthony Davidson in a Leafield-built Super Aguri Honda starts 20th, two places behind his team-mate Takuma Sato.
Enstone-based ING Renault F1 team driver Heikki Kovalainen, seventh place in the drivers' championship, will start in 17th place after being eliminated at the Q1 stage for just the second time this season following a late mistake.
His Renault team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella starts 12th.
Nico Rosberg qualified his Grove-built AT&T Williams-Toyota in tenth place and his new team-mate Kazuki Nakajima starts 19th.
Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying:
1. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1 min 11.931 secs
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:12.082
3. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:12.322
4. Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:12.356
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:12.928
6. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:13.081
7. Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:13.129
8. Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:13.195
9. David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:13.272
10. Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:13.477
11. Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:12.932
12. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:12.968
13. Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:13.058
14. Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:13.251
15. Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:13.351
16. Jenson Button Honda 1:13.469
17. Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:14.078
18. Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:14.098
19. Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:14.417
20. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:14.596
21. Adrian Sutil Spyker - Ferrari 1:15.217
22. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker - Ferrari 1:15.487
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