Michael Schumacher Grabs Domintant Pole in Japan

Four-time World Champion Michael Schumacher continued his dominance of the 2001 season right to the end as he posted a blistering time to secure his 11th pole position of the season in Japan on Saturday.

Schumacher controlled the qualifying session in his Ferrari, bettering an already unbeatable time with a superb lap which was three seconds faster than last year's pole. It was Schumacher's fourth consecutive pole position at Suzuka and the 43rd pole of his career.

Earlier in the session, the Williams pair of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya sat pretty on the provisional front row, but with both Ferraris and both McLarens yet to show they were not to stay there for long. McLaren's David Coulthard could not quite top Ralf Schumacher's top time on his first run, but the rejuvenated Mika Hakkinen sped ahead soon after to claim provisional pole by more than three tenths of a second.

With 25 minutes gone, Rubens Barrichello made his and Ferrari's first appearance on track and immediately went to the top of the times - but his time at the top would not last long. Barrichello had shaved just one tenth of a second off Hakkinen's time, but when teammate Michael Schumacher came out for his first run the German star was immediately on a flier.

Already three tenths up after his first sector, Schumacher's fantastic lap secured him a comfortable provisional pole position, six tenths of a second faster Barrichello. His time was tough to beat, and as his rivals tried they managed only to shuffle places behind this year's World Champion.

First Hakkinen, then Schumacher's brother Ralf fell short of topping the times and slotted into second, before the Ferrari one-two was resumed as Barrichello closed to within three tenths of his teammate. Schumacher, concerned of the closing gap, could not afford to sit and watch from the garage and just to show his rivals who's boss, he took the time further out of reach, reducing it by another two tenths.

Juan Pablo Montoya climbed onto a provisional front row spot with ten minutes to go, and his impressive performance served as another warning for provisional polesitter Schumacher. Just to make sure, Schumacher's Ferrari was soon out of the garage once more and he was soon on his way to an almost perfect lap, which eked out another three tenths of a second and cemented his superiority.

Montoya pushed hard, but could not beat Schumacher's time and had to settle for a still impressive second place in his first time on the Suzuka track. Ralf Schumacher was third on the grid with Barrichello fourth, Hakkinen fifth and Coulthard left down in seventh.

Among the front-runners, Giancarlo Fisichella showed Benetton have continued the improvements that have transformed the team which struggled so much earlier in the season as he held station to qualify sixth. In a rather uneventful session for offs and accidents, Minardi's Fernando Alonso and Prost's Tomas Enge were the only drivers to slip up.

Alonso went off at the Esses before recovering, while Enge spun at the Denger Curve to ruin many drivers last flying laps

Pos Driver Team Times 1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:32.484 228.260 km/h 2. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:33.184 + 0.700 3. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:33.297 + 0.813 4. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:33.323 + 0.839 5. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes (B) 1:33.662 + 1.178 6. Fisichella Benetton Renault (M) 1:33.830 + 1.346 7. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (B) 1:33.916 + 1.432 8. Trulli Jordan Honda (B) 1:34.002 + 1.518 9. Button Benetton Renault (M) 1:34.375 + 1.891 10. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:34.386 + 1.902 11. Alesi Jordan Honda (B) 1:34.420 + 1.936 12. Raikkonen Sauber Petronas (B) 1:34.581 + 2.097 13. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:34.851 + 2.367 14. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:35.109 + 2.625 15. Frentzen Prost Acer (M) 1:35.132 + 2.648 16. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:35.639 + 3.155 17. Panis BAR Honda (B) 1:35.766 + 3.282 18. Alonso Minardi European (M) 1:36.410 + 3.926 19. Enge Prost Acer (M) 1:36.446 + 3.962 20. Bernoldi Arrows Asiatech (B) 1:36.885 + 4.401 21. Verstappen Arrows Asiatech (B) 1:36.973 + 4.489 22. Yoong Minardi European (M) 1:38.246 + 5.762 All Timing Unofficial