Ferrari Formula One drivers Felipe Massa of Brazil (left) and Kimi Raikkonen of Finland wave to the media after the qualifying session for the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang Formula One circuit, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday. Ferrari claimed the front two spots on the grid for the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix, with Massa snatching the pole position ahead of Raikkonen. - AP

SEPANG, Malaysia (AP) :

MCLAREN LOST on and off the track yesterday after Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen were penalised five grid places and title rivals Ferrari took pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Felipe Massa claimed pole ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen, and the news got even better for the Italian team when a race stewards' investigation found McLaren guilty of causing interference during qualifying for today's race. Kovalainen had qualified third and Hamilton fourth, but the penalty moves them back to eighth and ninth, respectively.

Ferrari need to make up ground on McLaren after a dismal start to the season in Australia last week, collecting just one championship point against McLaren's 14.

Impeding

The penalty for McLaren came after BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld and Renault's Fernando Alonso were impeded in the closing seconds of qualifying as the McLarens cruised slowly on the racing line, having completed their sequence of quick laps.

Heidfeld and Alonso were on their last flying laps and attempting to set a qualifying time. Heidfeld, who qualified seventh, said the interference cost him third spot. Alonso acknowledged he had little chance of qualifying higher than the ninth spot where he ended up, regardless of the interference.

The McLaren penalty meant Toyota's Jarno Trulli was elevated to third place on the grid, behind the two Ferraris, followed by the BMW Sauber pair of Robert Kubica and Heidfeld.

Red Bull's Mark Webber was moved up to sixth and Alonso seventh.

In tactical terms, the penalty was a significant boost for Ferrari as they now have five slower cars between their drivers and the McLaren pair.

Refreshed rivalry

McLaren are unable to change their race strategy to reflect the lower grid slots, as their cars must start with the fuel loads with which they finished qualifying. McLaren were also hoping to avoid any controversy this year following a tumultuous last season when the team was disqualified from the constructors' championship and received a record fine over possession of confidential Ferrari technical documents.

The incident also refreshed the rivalry between Hamilton and Alonso, with the double world champion having left the team in the offseason after a single season at McLaren. Alonso had made no secret of his unhappiness with his treatment compared to Hamilton.

Despite the grid penalties, McLaren are not out of the equation for today's race. The Sepang circuit is very broad, presenting multiple passing opportunities.

Rain - which has been torrential in past Malaysian Grand Prixs - is also forecast, which may offset any grid advantages.