Massa on pole, Alonso has engine problems

Magny-Cours, France (Sports Network) - Ferrari's Felipe Massa won the pole for Sunday's French Grand Prix Formula One race at Magny-Cours. The No.5 Ferrari circled the high-speed 2.756-mile Circuit De Nevers track in one minute, 15.034 seconds.
The pole victory was Massa's fourth of the season and sixth of his F1 career.
"I think that this is encouraging and we are back to fighting (for wins)," said Massa.
Starting on the front row with Massa will be Lewis Hamilton, who posted a second-best time of 1:15.104. Hamilton has won the last two events and holds a 10-point lead in the drivers championship over two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso.
"The team did a fantastic job," said Hamilton. "I had a car to be pole, I lost a bit of time in turn 15."
Kimi Raikkonen (1:15.257) and Robert Kubica (1:15.493) will make up row two.
In the first of three qualifying sessions, Hamilton was quickest. Eliminated were Adrian Sutil, Christijan Albers, Anthony Davidson, Takuma Sato, Alex Wurz and Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Hamilton was again fastest in the second session. David Coulthard was among those dropped in the second session when he had an electronic problem and didn't post a time. Also out after Q2 were: American Scott Speed, Mark Webber, Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button and Ralf Schumacher.
The final session got underway and Alonso's engine gave off a puff of smoke. He brought the McLaren back to the garage and never returned. The team's first thoughts were engine problem. If he is forced to change his engine, he will suffer a 10-spot penalty on the starting grid.
With just under three minutes remaining in qualifying, Massa held the top spot, but there was time for one last flying lap. Hamilton and Raikkonen took shots at the Brazilian, but came up short.
The race is set to drop the green flag on Sunday at 8 a.m. (et).