Schuey surprised at slower pole time

The world champion was, however, a little surprised that his pole position time of 1m35.266s was fractionally slower than his 2001 pole - 1m35.220s.

"That's actually a surprise to me," Schumacher admitted. "We spend all these millions on car development and so it's a bit of a shock to go slower a year later to be honest. But the important thing is that I am fastest. I know that the car is quicker than it was a year ago so it's a matter of the track being slower than in previous years. That's the only explanation I can give."

There was heavy rain in Malaysia on Friday evening, which has the effect of washing off some of the rubber put down by the cars on Friday. The circuit is therefore a little 'greener' than it would have otherwise have been, which is what the tyre men suspect is the cause of the slower times.

Schumacher, meanwhile, is confident that he is in good shape for the race. "People talk about the Michelins in the heat but I think we are well prepared and we did not have any problems in the later part of last year in similar conditions."

Strengthening his hand further, Schumacher set his pole time with the use of just three sets of tyres, meaning that he could bank a new set for use in the race.