Massa's enthusiasm 'kerbed' in Q2.

Felipe Massa topped the list of names knocked out of Australian Grand Prix qualifying at the second attempt, the Brazilian's wretched Melbourne luck added to when his Ferrari ground to a halt after hitting a kerb.

While Massa was being eliminated, however, Takuma Sato was making sure that Super Aguri got at least one car into the final top ten shoot-out, confirming the minnow's rise to prominence this weekend - but also providing extra fuel for the fires of protest likely to be seen after qualifying.

Massa left it late to begin his first flying lap in Q2, only rolling out of pit lane with a shade under two minutes left on the clock, and then failed to complete that lap when he clouted a kerb. The F2007 slowed dramatically, with Massa unable even to make it back to the garage - although time would have been against the Ferrari team. The incident hands intra-team advantage to Kimi Raikkonen, who took it comparatively easy in setting the fourth fastest time and guaranteeing himself a place in the final shoot-out.

Joining Massa on the sidelines will be the two Williams-Toyotas of Alex Wurz and Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button's Honda, Heikki Kovalainen's Renault and Anthony Davidson's Aguri. Kovalainen aborted what appeared to be a tentative flying lap and will start the grand prix from 13th spot, while Davidson was pushed out of the top ten at the death, preventing SAF1 from getting two cars into the final segment.

Sato will be there, however, although his chances of putting a version of last year's pole car in top spot for the race are slim, as will be Mark Webber's in the remaining Red Bull car, with McLaren and Ferrari both looking strong.

While Raikkonen took it relatively calmly to get into the top ten, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso both appeared to be working harder for their rewards, although the Briton topped the times through the middle of the session. Team-mate Alonso refused to be beaten, however, bolting on a second set of the soft Bridgestones before claiming top spot ahead of Nick Heidfeld and Hamilton.