Ferrari sacrifices front-row for race pace

Five-time world champion Schumacher could not match the pace of Renault's poleman Fernando Alonso and team-mate Jarno Trulli and his third place subsequently broke a run of poles in Malaysia that dates back to the Sepang circuit's first appearance on the F1 calendar in 1999.

"I do not want to take anything away from Renault's achievement," said Schumacher, "as they did a good job, but I hope we have the right strategy for the race. I am not bothered about my run of poles being interrupted. Pole is a fantastic bonus, but the new rules mean you have to focus on the race."

Barrichello also admitted that he sacrificed speed in qualifying for a better race set-up: "We worked with the race in mind, but that does not mean I wasn't pushing hard in qualifying. Tomorrow, it will be important to be patient to see how the situation evolves on the track and not to get too involved in any possible moments at the start."