Bad day for Ralf and Ralph

Schumacher was the first to push his car over the limit, going off the circuit at turn 3. He was unable to complete his lap.

"During my qualifying lap the car oversteered going into turn 3," said Schumacher. "I could not control it and I spun off the track. There is nothing else to say as it was a driver error. My first sector time wasn't too bad but this is irrelevant. Although I am disappointed and today's timesheet doesn't clearly show it, I hope we can position ourselves between Ferrari and McLaren. It should be an exciting weekend."

Firman, meanwhile, went off the track at the final corner but actually crossed the timing beam to complete his lap as he hit the wall. He had been ahead of team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella's split times until that point.

"It's a shame," he rued. "The car felt really good and I was pushing hard, but obviously too hard at the final corner. I ran a little bit too wide and tried to keep my foot in to get a good lap time but I went on to the grass and hit the wall. I'm disappointed for myself as I was on a good lap."

Schumacher will start tomorrow's final qualifying session first, with Firman next up in the one-shot format.