Hakkinen disappointed with second

The Finn ran his title-rival close, winding up second by just nine-thousandths of a second - the position from which he has won the race and the title for the last two years.

"I'm disappointed because I could have been on pole, but on the last chicane I couldn't accelerate out as fast as I wanted to," said Hakkinen.

"Then again, I am happy to be front row because, as we have seen over the last few years, I can do it from here."

Hakkinen admitted he was concerned at reports that rain is predicted for half an hour into the race.

"It certainly makes the race more difficult and this circuit is not easy in the rain. If you run over the kerbs it could be dangerous in the rain, which is never very pleasant."

Hakkinen has never started from pole in 10 visits to Suzuka, but he needs a third successive Suzuka success to have a realistic chance of battling Schumacher for the title at the last round in Malaysia in two weeks time.

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