For the third time on the trot, Ferrari’s departing Felipe Massa in Abu Dhabi outqualified his famous teammate Fernando Alonso.
Spaniard Alonso, however, rubbished suggestions his loss of form is a symptom of his deteriorated relationship with the fabled Maranello team.
"It’s not only about qualifying," he said, after failing even to join Massa in the ’Q3’ segment.
"There are many things you can do for qualifying that make the car quicker and then in the race you’re slower," added Alonso.
He said that while Massa - who is fighting hard to find an alternative race seat for 2014 - has had the edge in qualifying recently, "in those races I finished in front and I have a lot more points".
"Saturdays are good for the show and for talking, but the points are on Sundays," said Alonso.
Massa acknowledged that his Sundays have not been as good as his Saturdays.
"For sure it’s not the same in the races. In some of the races I didn’t finish in the position I was supposed to. But the situation is very competitive. I have no trouble getting the best out of the car. I hope to continue like this until the end," he is quoted by Brazil’s Totalrace.
"There are two more tracks that I like, in the United States and Brazil, so I am trying to do a decent end to the year, both in qualifying but also in the races."