Schumacher relishes qualifying fight

Barrichello held provisional pole for much of today's (Saturday) qualifying session before Schumacher nipped in front in the closing minutes with a lap just 0.06sec faster than his team-mate's.

"It was a hard fight as my team-mate really pushed me. It was good fun!" said Schumacher later. "In the end, I was lucky that I had no traffic on my last run and I made no mistakes. On my first run I had traffic, on the second I ran wide and on the third I made a mistake."

Barrichello, who put in three runs to save a set of tyres for tomorrow's race, said: "Having been on provisional pole for most of the session, of course I would have liked to have kept it. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the challenge and the fight was fun."

The team's sporting director Jean Todt praised the competition between his two drivers, saying: "It was a very exciting session with a great battle going down to the dying moments.

"I am very happy with Michael for getting yet another pole and also with a great performance from Rubens, the only driver to have saved a set of tyres. It is particularly pleasing to have an all-red front row in front of our fans and staff."