Schumacher ends Hakkinen's pole run

The championship leader, debuting a more powerful Ferrari V10, snatched his first pole of the season by 29 thousandths of a second from arch rival Mika Hakkinen.

The double champion set his best time on his first run and then sat in the shade of the garage and watched his rivals toil as temperatures nudged 51 degrees in the cockpit.

In the event they wilted in the traffic and the heat to hand the Ferrari number one his first pole since last year's final race in Suzuka.

'It looks like its a lucky circuit for me but we will have to wait until tomorrow to see if that is really true.

'I have finally got the first pole position but then I did expect something here because we have been getting closer and closer to McLaren.

'The new engine was a nice little bit of extra support but we will not run it in the race. We could but we will play safe this time.'

'It's a real shame Eddie is not on the front row with me - that would have been good for Ferrari.'

He goes into the sixth round of the world championship leaading Hakkinen, who starts second, by six points.