Michael cautious over victory chances

Should he convert pole to victory in Sunday's race, the German will also have extended his record of wins from the pole to seven on the trot.

"We know we have the opportunity to win, but having the opportunity and doing it are two different things," he said.

The reigning Formula 1 World Champion shares the front row for the first time with his younger brother Ralf, as the Schumacher family shut out the rest of the field.

Schumacher has set himself the shortest route to what history has shown is often a talisman triumph. Every driver that has won this race for the last seven years has gone on to become world champion. But not since Ayrton Senna won in 1993 has a driver started from pole and gone on to win.

"Some people were driving on low fuel yesterday which clouded the picture, but we knew where we stood," said Schumacher. "We knew we would have a chance of getting pole. We knew it would be tight, but we had a chance and ultimately we did it."

Brother Ralf starts from the best grid position of his career.

"It's a great pleasure to see my little brother next to me and I am not surprised to see him there. His recent form suggested Williams would be good here," said the Ferrari ace. "We know one another well enough and so we will not crash."

"We are in a good situation generally," he added. "The car is probably the best of the field and if nothing unusual happens we have the opportunity to win, but having it and doing it are two separate things. We'll see how difficult Mika and the other drivers will make the situation for me. To be first, first I have to finish.

"I would like to have another victory, but every good series has to have an end - there are always up and downs. We've had a long duration of ups and I hope we'll continue to see that, but we will have to wait and see tomorrow."

For full results from qualifying, click here.