Barrichello Grabs Dramatic Pole - Austria

Michael Schumacher conceded pole position and a possible hat-trick of successive prime grid positions on Saturday when he was outpaced in qualifying by his Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello. For the little Brazilian, it was a perfect way to mark the signing on Thursday of a two-year extension to his contract with the Italian team.

Quadruple World Champion Schumacher ended up having to be satisfied with third position behind his Latin American partner and his younger brother Ralf who showed that whatever colour his hair may be, his speed and aggression remain undimmed. The 26-year-old German pushed his Williams-BMW to the limit on the tight and technical A1-Ring set in the hillsides of the Styrian Alps as he clocked the second-best time behind an inspired Barrichello.

The 'Paulista' was, of course, exceptionally fast here a year ago in his Ferrari in a race that eventually led to him displaying a fit of pique when he was requested, firmly, to obey team orders and concede his second position to his teammate Schumacher. It was worth it. Now, happy and content with his new long deal, he is back on form and, luck permitting, could finally deliver another long-awaited victory.

Schumacher, notably, has never won in Austria and it remains the only circuit of the current 17 in use that has not seen him register a victory. That said, it therefore remains foolish to predict he cannot do so this time on a track where he will be determined to give pleasure to the invading scarlet army of fans from his homeland.

Barrichello topped the times after 40 minutes of a largely pedestrian session interrupted by one red flag, which caused an 11-minutes stoppage, when Jarno Trulli, in his Renault, careered off the circuit and dropped oil from an apparently failing car. This led to a host of others sliding off briefly.

Prior to the stoppage, Ralf Schumacher and David Coulthard, in his McLaren Mercedes-Benz, had topped the times, but that was before the Ferraris emerged in anger to clock their best lap times. Michael Schumacher, in his first effort to overhaul Barrichello's neat lap, even spun off briefly as he pursued his partner's speed in vain.

Barrichello, as if to show his superiority, even clocked an improved time in the final minutes when he clocked one minute and 8.082 seconds, a best ever qualifying time and new record for the twisting track. Ralf was second by two-tenths of a second and Michael third ahead of Juan-Pablo Montoya in his Williams, Nick Heidfeld in his Sauber and Kimi Raikkonen in the quickest McLaren.

Felipe Massa was seventh in the second Sauber ahead of Coulthard, a result that confirmed the relative decline in the Scot's form on a circuit where he won last year. But, given that Schumacher will not be starting on the front row, it may not mean much once Sunday's 71-laps race begins.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:08.082 228.748 km/h 10 2. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:08.364 + 0.282 12 3. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:08.704 + 0.622 10 4. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:09.118 + 1.036 12 5. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:09.129 + 1.047 11 6. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:09.154 + 1.072 12 7. Massa Sauber Petronas (B) 1:09.228 + 1.146 10 8. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:09.335 + 1.253 12 9. Panis BAR Honda (B) 1:09.561 + 1.479 12 10. Salo Toyota (M) 1:09.661 + 1.579 11 11. Frentzen Arrows Cosworth (B) 1:09.671 + 1.589 11 12. Bernoldi Arrows Cosworth (B) 1:09.723 + 1.641 12 13. Button Renault (M) 1:09.780 + 1.698 11 14. McNish Toyota (M) 1:09.818 + 1.736 12 15. Fisichella Jordan Honda (B) 1:09.901 + 1.819 12 16. Trulli Renault (M) 1:09.980 + 1.898 10 17. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:10.051 + 1.969 12 18. Sato Jordan Honda (B) 1:10.058 + 1.976 12 19. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:10.533 + 2.451 12 20. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:10.741 + 2.659 10 21. Webber Minardi Asiatech (M) 1:11.388 + 3.306 10 22. Yoong Minardi Asiatech (M) 1:12.336 + 4.254 12 All Timing Unofficial