Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium ? McLaren’s championship leader Lewis Hamilton clinched pole position for today’s Belgian Grand Prix ahead of his main challenger Felipe Massa, on a track that was supposed to favor the Ferrari car.

Hamilton’s McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen took third place on the grid, with Ferrrari driver and world champion Kimmi Raikkonen finishing fourth. BMW-Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld was fifth, edging former world champion Fernando Alonso of Renault.