SAO PAULO, Brazil, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - Local hero Felipe Massa took pole position for Sunday´s showdown Brazilian Grand Prix with a scintillating lap for Ferrari at Interlagos on Saturday.

He finished with a best lap time of one minute and 11.931 seconds to leave championship leading Briton Lewis Hamilton of McLaren in second place, less than a tenth of a second behind him.

Massa, born in Sao Paulo and winner of last year´s race, saw his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen of Finland clock the third-best time ahead of fellow title contender and defending champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso who was fourth for McLaren.

That meant that Hamilton, nick-named Rubinho by the Brazilian public, starts on the front row of the grid with Massa - an ideal scenario for the local crowd and a good opportunity for Hamilton to keep his two title rivals behind him.

"It´s a fantastic feeling," Massa said afterwards. "Being back in Brazil and on pole position is always fantastic. In qualifying I had a very good first lap but in the second lap I made a small mistake, improved my time but made a small mistake and I was a little bit worried that Lewis could beat me.

"But I am happy to come back here in front of my people, it is a big emotion. The atmosphere is always the same. The people enjoy being here at Interlagos and it is amazing.

"Hopefully we can finish this year like we did last, that would be a dream."

Hamilton, nick-named Rubinho by the Brazilian public, starts on the front row of the grid with Massa, an ideal scenario for the local fans and a good opportunity for Hamilton to keep his two title rivals behind him in the season finale on Sunday.

There was some suggestion that Hamilton impeded Raikkonen during the Finn´s quickest laps but the British rookie issued a strong denial, declaring his satisfaction with the way the qualifying session went.

He said: "It was very close for pole but I really enjoyed the qualifying session. We seem to have a very good car here. The team have done a very good job as always.

"I did lose a bit of time on the last corner of my last lap but it wasn´t a mistake I just didn´t want to lose what I had. Apart from that it was close to the perfect lap. I am very, very happy. Second is a good place for us to start.

"I am just buzzing. I am really excited but I feel very relaxed. I love the circuit, the food here in Brazil is great and the fans are extremely enthusiastic.

"We have got the pace and I feel very confident for tomorrow. I hope the weather is good and we can continue having a good weekend."

McLaren team boss Ron Dennis also wore a wide grin as his protege inched closer to becoming the youngest ever world champion.

"It is almost all in Lewis´ hands now," he said. "We have a little bit more work to do it will be a good clean fight and a good conclusion for the world championship."

Raikkonen, currently seven points adrift of Hamilton in the standings, will still pose a threat in the race and the man known as the flying Finn´ was satisfied with his qualifying performance.

"It could have been a better final lap but the car was good," he said. "We have a good position to start and we have a good race car for tomorrow so anything can happen. We just need to go for it. It is going to be a long, hard race."

With minutes left in the final session, both McLarens ran on new soft rubber and when they were clocked Hamilton was second behind Massa and Alonso fifth behind Australian Mark Webber´s Red Bull.

McLaren told Hamilton over the team radio to put in a hard in-lap´ for fresh tyres for the final push and he rejoined the fray again on soft tyres.

Massa clocked another blistering lap and it looked all set for an all Ferrari front-row when Raikkonen also set an impressive time.

But Hamilton would not be denied and his final effort could even have brought him pole position had he not been slightly conservative at the last corner.