Schumacher Surprised by Gap to Rivals

World Champion Michael Schumacher was surprised after he blew away his rivals on Saturday to take pole position for what could be a title-deciding German Grand Prix for Ferrari.

The Italian team can secure their sixth successive Formula One Constructors' Championship on Sunday, with six races to spare, while Schumacher can equal his own 2002 record of 11 wins in a season.

The six-times World Champion triggered a roar from the crowd and a burst of klaxons as he claimed his 61st career pole, four short of Brazilian Ayrton Senna's record, with a lap of 1:13.306.

That stunning time proved 0.362 of a second quicker than Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, last year's winner from pole in a Williams, who lines up alongside him. It was also more than a second and a half inside Montoya's 2003 lap record of 1:14.917.

The pole meant the German will have started half the season's 12 races from first place on the grid and was his first since his other home grand prix at the Nurburgring in May.

"It's a surprise to be up by that much," said the German, still shaking off the effects of flu, of his margin over Montoya.

"But I wasn't too surprised in the end because we worked the car very well. We just got it to the point in the final run in free practice, when I couldn't put a time in. I was pretty confident we had a chance.

"Sectors two and three I just got perfectly together, sector one probably was not 100 percent but I think all of us can say we lost here and there a little bit of time."

Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello had a poor day and finished nearly a second behind the German in eighth position.