Schuey Jr surprised to outqualify big brother

"He calls me his little brother, but I am not really," he said. "I am taller and heavier than him, so he won't worry me, although I cannot remember when I last out qualified him. Never in Formula 1 I guess."

The BMW-Williams driver had hoped for a dry, warm session at the Imola circuit to suit the team's Michelin tyres, but instead had to deal with a damp and cold run around the 3.065-mile long track.

But the German still managed to pull out all the stops and grab third place in a last-gasp effort, and bump brother Michael Schumacher out of the top three.

The younger Schumacher clocked a time of 1m23.357seconds on his 12th and final run in the dying minutes of the session.

"I didn't expect us to be this quick at all," said Schumacher, who also qualified in the top three for the Brazilian Grand Prix a fortnight ago. "We had been having lots of problems in the rain."

Like the Brazilian race he starts alongside his brother - but this time he is the one that is ahead. Michael starts fourth.

"It would have helped us more if it had been dry because Michelin are known to be good in hot, dry conditions, but we still seemed to get it right," said Ralf. "BMW gave us a good engine today, and we just got it right."

But Schumacher did acknowledge that his big brother would be out to put the record straight on race day.

He added: "It is a shame it didn't work out for him, but I am sure he will do well on Sunday.

"So far I have been good in qualifying but things have always happened in races. Hopefully that won't be the case for tomorrow."