Schuey admits to over-driving in qual

The world champion promised he wouldn't ease off the pedal after winning the world title last month - and he hasn't. The four-time champion, who is on a mission to help Barrichello steal second in the drivers' championship from David Coulthard, said he overcooked his lap in several places.

"I was going too fast - which makes you go too slow sometimes," he admitted.

Barrichello only outqualified Schumacher twice last year, at Silverstone and Hungary.

"Naturally you want to be up at the front, but we didn't get it together today," added Schumacher. "Third is not disastrous for the race tomorrow. We'll have to wait and see what we can do.

Schumacher wrapped up a fourth world title in Hungary and will equal the record of nine wins in a season if he triumphs on Sunday. He already holds that record twice himself, along with Nigel Mansell.

"I'm a bit more optimistic now about our chances of winning," he said. "But it depends on the weather conditions we face. We have improved a lot in engine and tyres so this is something that makes us competitive against the Williams, which wasn't the case at Hockenheim.

"The sector times show we could have been on pole, but we didn't manage to put them altogether on one lap. I made a mistake in the first sector on my third last run and killed the overall lap time - but that's the way it is sometimes in qualifying.

"Obviously I was trying to go for pole, and the only way was to push very hard and then you can overdo it."

Asked if the terrorist attack in America affected his concentration he said "certainly".