Michael Leads All-Schumacher Front Row at Imola

World Champion Michael Schumacher will start from pole position for the second time this season after he and brother Ralf put in the perfect tribute to their ill mother on Saturday by filling the front row for the San Marino Grand Prix.

German Schumacher, whose mother is currently in a coma after falling at home last weekend, briefly put his personal worries aside for his one-lap run as his team's tifosi fans cheered him on in Saturday's qualifying at Imola.

His smooth lap of 1:22.327 saw him beat Williams-BMW driver Ralf by just one hundredth of a second with the final run of a thrilling session in the Italian sunshine.

Schumacher's Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello, in his spare car, was third with a time of 1:22.557, two tenths of a second slower than the lead Ferrari, while Juan Pablo Montoya, in the second Williams, completed the second row.

Australian Mark Webber, who crashed out of the last race in Brazil after an impressive performance all weekend, continued to show Jaguar are moving forward by setting fifth fastest time and will start alongside Finn Kimi Raikkonen, of McLaren.

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve and Briton Jenson Button finished seventh and ninth respectively for BAR Honda with Renault driver Fernando Alonso, of Spain, sandwiched in between, and Frenchman Olivier Panis completing the top 10 for Toyota.

Justin Wilson was first out on track in his Minardi and set a time of 1:25.826 but the session was stopped soon after when his teammate Jos Verstappen hit the barriers at turn 12.

Verstappen failed to set a time and will start the race from the back of the grid but, because his car escapes the pre-race parc ferme lock-in, he could have the advantage of changing his car's set-up if it rains on Sunday.

Cristiano da Matta was next out in the Toyota and set a time that did little to boost the morale of the struggling Germany-based team but there was even more disappointment for Jordan's Ralph Firman on the next run.

A lock-up in the first corner of the Briton's run ensured his lap was always going to be slower than his earlier efforts in practice and he will start from the back of the grid alongside Verstappen after failing to beat Wilson's time.

Jarno Trulli continued to struggle and set a time of 1:24.190 while his young Renault teammate Fernando Alonso, out later in the session, beat him by more than a second to go top of the times after 10 cars had completed their runs.

Scot David Coulthard was faced with an early run after finishing only 9th in Friday's qualifying session and he suffered as he made several mistakes on his lap and his time of 1:23.818 put him fourth, with eight drivers still to come.

His Finnish teammate Raikkonen did not have such troubles when he became the next man out on track and he moved to the top of the times with a lap of 1:23.148.

Villeneuve, with a smooth and aggressive run, put himself on course to steal the top spot for BAR Honda as he set the fastest time in the first sector but slowed in the second two and lost out on the provisional pole by just 0.012 seconds.

His teammate Button also beat Raikkonen's split time in the first sector but he failed to match Villeneuve in the latter part of the lap and he had to settle for provisional fourth with a time of 1:23.381.

Mark Webber, who had been setting stunning times in the Jaguar during the practice sessions and was aiming for a top six grid spot, was next on track and he set a time of 1:23.015 to claim provisional pole with four cars to go.

Juan Pablo Montoya, in a much improved Williams, hit the first split time three tenths of a second faster than Webber and although he lost time at Acqua Minerale he went fastest with a time of 1:22.789.

Ralf Schumacher, who crashed into the wall in practice and was forced to drive his spare car in his one-lap run, claimed provisional pole position by almost half a second with just the two Ferraris left to run.

Pos Driver Team T1 T2 Time 1. (20) M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 23.464 50.931 1:22.327 2. (18) R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 23.715 51.240 1:22.341 + 0.014 3. (19) Barrichello Ferrari (B) 23.726 51.191 1:22.557 + 0.230 4. (17) Montoya Williams BMW (M) 23.595 51.520 1:22.789 + 0.462 5. (16) Webber Jaguar Cosworth (M) 23.962 51.718 1:23.015 + 0.688 6. (13) Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 23.890 51.703 1:23.148 + 0.821 7. (14) Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 23.639 51.492 1:23.160 + 0.833 8. (8) Alonso Renault (M) 23.898 51.767 1:23.169 + 0.842 9. (15) Button BAR Honda (B) 23.762 51.684 1:23.381 + 1.054 10. (9) Panis Toyota (M) 24.065 51.776 1:23.460 + 1.133 11. (7) Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 23.978 51.994 1:23.700 + 1.373 12. (12) Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 23.956 51.779 1:23.818 + 1.491 13. (3) da Matta Toyota (M) 24.190 51.896 1:23.838 + 1.511 14. (11) Frentzen Sauber Petronas (B) 24.079 52.113 1:23.932 + 1.605 15. (6) Pizzonia Jaguar Cosworth (M) 24.167 52.492 1:24.147 + 1.820 16. (5) Trulli Renault (M) 24.311 52.375 1:24.190 + 1.863 17. (10) Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 24.311 52.293 1:24.317 + 1.990 18. (1) Wilson Minardi Cosworth (B) 24.859 53.555 1:25.826 + 3.499 19. (4) Firman Jordan Ford (B) 24.931 53.544 1:26.357 + 4.030 20. (2) Verstappen Minardi Cosworth (B) 24.698 53.300 No Time Pos ----- Sector 1 ----- ----- Sector 2 ----- ----- Sector 3 ----- 1. M.Schumacher 23.464 Barrichello 27.465 R.Schumacher 31.101 2. Montoya 23.595 M.Schumacher 27.467 Montoya 31.269 3. Villeneuve 23.639 R.Schumacher 27.525 Webber 31.297 4. R.Schumacher 23.715 da Matta 27.706 Barrichello 31.366 5. Barrichello 23.726 Panis 27.711 M.Schumacher 31.396 6. Button 23.762 Webber 27.756 Alonso 31.402 7. Raikkonen 23.890 Raikkonen 27.813 Raikkonen 31.445 8. Alonso 23.898 Coulthard 27.823 Pizzonia 31.655 9. Coulthard 23.956 Villeneuve 27.853 Villeneuve 31.668 10. Webber 23.962 Alonso 27.869 Panis 31.684 11. Heidfeld 23.978 Button 27.922 Button 31.697 12. Panis 24.065 Montoya 27.925 Heidfeld 31.706 13. Frentzen 24.079 Fisichella 27.982 Trulli 31.815 14. Pizzonia 24.167 Heidfeld 28.016 Frentzen 31.819 15. da Matta 24.190 Frentzen 28.034 da Matta 31.942 16. Trulli 24.311 Trulli 28.064 Fisichella 32.024 17. Fisichella 24.311 Pizzonia 28.325 Coulthard 32.039 18. Verstappen 24.698 Verstappen 28.602 Wilson 32.271 19. Wilson 24.859 Firman 28.613 Firman 32.813 20. Firman 24.931 Wilson 28.696 Top Speed: 304.3 (Coulthard, McLaren-Mercedes) All Timing Unofficial