Barrichello Takes First Pole of the Year - US GP

Rubens Barrichello claimed his first pole position of the season on Saturday when he lead world champion teammate Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari one-two in qualifying for the United States Grand Prix.

German Schumacher, who has been virtually invincible this season in winning seven races from eight, looked set to claim his sixth top qualifying spot of the season with a lap of 1:10.400 in sunny conditions and warm temperatures.

But Barrichello, who had topped three of the four practice sessions as well as first qualifying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, finished 0.177 seconds clear to outqualify his teammate for the first time this year.

Schumacher won last year's race in September to set himself up to win a sixth World Championship but he looks set to face a battle with Barrichello as he attempts to continue his stroll towards a seventh.

BAR-Honda claimed second best but Japanese driver Takuma Sato was 0.378 seconds behind Schumacher in third with Briton Jenson Button 0.597 seconds back in fourth.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya and German Ralf Schumacher finished fifth and sixth for Williams-BMW and Finn Kimi Raikkonen gave McLaren-Mercedes some hope with seventh place while Frenchman Olivier Panis claimed eighth for Toyota.

Spaniard Fernando Alonso finished ninth for Renault with Australian Mark Webber, benefiting from an improved engine in his Jaguar, making a return to the top ten for the first time since early may with 10th position.

Raikkonen led the field after the first ten cars and Italian Jarno Trulli had failed to set a time after his Renault team were forced to push start him in the pitlane and decided to bring him in to check the car over before the race.

Schumacher was the 12th car out on track and put himself 0.737 seconds ahead of Raikkonen at the top of the times and Button could not beat it as he went into second 0.420 seconds slower.

Alonso also failed to go faster and slotted in behind Raikkonen with the two Williams cars of Montoya and Ralf Schumacher, Sato's BAR-Honda, Panis in the Toyota and Barrichello's Ferrari left to run.

Pos Driver Team T1 T2 Time 1. (20) Barrichello Ferrari (B) 21.613 50.652 1:10.223 2. (12) M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 21.401 50.884 1:10.400 + 0.177 3. (17) Sato BAR-Honda (M) 21.774 50.798 1:10.601 + 0.378 4. (13) Button BAR-Honda (M) 21.789 51.023 1:10.820 + 0.597 5. (19) Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 21.890 51.280 1:11.062 + 0.839 6. (16) R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 21.850 51.409 1:11.106 + 0.883 7. (7) Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 22.188 51.449 1:11.137 + 0.914 8. (18) Panis Toyota (M) 21.909 51.288 1:11.167 + 0.944 9. (15) Alonso Renault (M) 22.066 51.313 1:11.185 + 0.962 10. (6) Webber Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 22.069 51.419 1:11.286 + 1.063 11. (14) da Matta Toyota (M) 22.224 51.728 1:11.691 + 1.468 12. (9) Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 22.286 52.151 1:12.026 + 1.803 13. (5) Klien Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 22.294 52.150 1:12.170 + 1.947 14. (10) Fisichella Sauber-Petronas (B) 22.530 52.509 1:12.470 + 2.247 15. (8) Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 22.514 52.876 1:12.721 + 2.498 16. (3) Heidfeld Jordan-Ford (B) 22.725 52.887 1:13.147 + 2.924 17. (4) Pantano Jordan-Ford (B) 22.744 52.974 1:13.375 + 3.152 18. (2) Bruni Minardi-Cosworth (B) 22.998 53.800 1:14.010 + 3.787 19. (1) Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth (B) 23.285 53.931 1:14.812 + 4.589 20. (11) Trulli Renault (M) 28.579 63.753 No Time All timing unofficial