Ralf: Bridgestone have upper hand

Four Bridgestone runners took the first five places in qualifying, with Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa securing an all-Ferrari front row.

Ralf Schumacher qualified a strong fifth, one position behind Italian teammate Jarno Trulli.

"The whole weekend we have shown that the car has been performing well and up to speed, so it has been a good two days for us," said Schumacher. "I'm sure that Bridgestone again has the upper hand on the tyre front but as a team we have also done a good job.

"My sessions went pretty smoothly today. I lost a bit of time on my first lap in Q1 due to traffic but the second lap was clear. Q2 went better and I was able to post the second quickest time. My last lap in Q3 was also pretty pain-free and considering the strategy that we have we can be quite satisfied.

"We are confident about our race pace so now let's see what we can achieve tomorrow."

Trulli, fresh from his best result of the season at Indianapolis, kept his momentum going with a promising performance.

"We have been quick all weekend and I'm pleased to be fourth here so thanks to all the Toyota team," said Trulli. "It looks like the tyres are very competitive as well so thanks to Bridgestone which is also doing a very good job.

"I made a few mistakes on my fastest lap so I probably could have done better. But we have a strong package and everything has gone well here so far so I just hope for another good race tomorrow."