Ralf: I'll be happy to keep second behind my 'bro’

Schumacher Jr trailed his brother, Michael, by just 0.310 seconds on Saturday as he put his BMW-Williams second on the grid for the third race of the season.

"I think Ferrari will be too strong for us but we will try our best tomorrow," said Schumacher, who battled with his big brother for pole position at the Malaysian Grand Prix two weeks ago. "If I have a good start, it should be difficult for me to be overtaken, although I will be on the dirty side of the track away from the lights."

But Schumacher admits he is surprised to have qualified so high after a trying few days of practice.

"We have had a very difficult weekend," he said. "We had gearbox problems on Friday, which meant we couldn't really develop the car at all. Basically I did all my work this morning."

Schumacher added he was also pleased to see team mate Juan Pablo Montoya secure fourth place on the grid behind Finn Mika Hakkinen for the race - also the Colombian rookie's best ever qualifying result in a Formula 1 race.

"Juan has done a very good job this weekend and I admit he is a lot closer than I thought he would be. The car is still difficult to drive at the moment so he has done well and I am pleased he is high up the grid. It is good for the team."