Schumacher baffled over spin

The newly crowned world champion had been last out during the final qualifying session with his sights set firmly on provisional pole man Rubens Barrichello, but he got it all wrong at the tight Turn 1, which has been labelled the most difficult corner at Shanghai.

He lost the back end of his Ferrari and spun around several times before briefly ending up in the gravel trap. He was able to rejoin the track but, having lost so much time, he opted to abort his lap rather than complete it. He will start 19th, with only Minardi's Gianmaria Bruni behind him after he also spun at the first corner.

Speaking about the incident afterwards, Schumacher said he believed driver error was not to blame - although he could not rule out the possibility completely.

"I am not really sure what happened when I spun," said Schumacher. "We usually have to fight some understeer in that corner and we have not changed much on the car since the morning session.

"At the moment the data does not provide an answer, so we will look into it. I don't know if it was my fault or not, but if we don't find something on the car then maybe it is down to what is between the fuel tank and the steering wheel. It is hard to say what I can do tomorrow, from this position."

Although starting from the back row of the grid may appear to rule Schumacher out of any chance of victory, his performance at the Italian Grand Prix when he finished second despite spinning on the opening lap means that nothing can be discounted.

"I had to come through the field in Monza and honestly, I was hoping it was the last time this season that I would have to do that," he added. "Now I will just have to try again. I am not angry, just disappointed."