Disaster for Barrichello

An electrical problem forced him to park his Ferrari at the trackside before the Brazilian could complete his first flying lap.

With Michael Schumacher already in the T-car after damaging his race chassis in practice, that meant an agonising wait for Barrichello while the mechanics finished repairing the wreck and changed its settings to suit their number two driver.

By the time he made it back onto the track, more rain had made quick times impossible. Any hope of a last-gasp improvement was dashed when the heavens opened again while he was on his final lap in the dying seconds of the session.

"This was without a doubt the worst day of the year for me," he admitted. "I had an electrical problem on my first run and had to stop out on the track. When I came back to the pits I had to wait until Michael's race car was repaired.

"When I did get out on the track it was too wet. In the final minutes the conditions improved but on my best lap I was in traffic. I am confident that tomorrow I will be able to make up the places I lost in qualifying because I know I have a competitive car."

This is Barrichello's worst starting position since 1998 and the worst for any Ferrari since 1996. His team-mate Schumacher qualified second fastest.