Schumacher Surprised by Slow Pole Time

World Champion Michael Schumacher revealed he was surprised that his pole position time in today's qualifying for the Malaysian Grand was slower than last year's.

The four times World Champion, who last season set a quickest time of 1:35.220, remains the only driver to start on pole in Malaysia, having outqualified all his rivals in every race at Sepang since the circuit's Championship debut in 1999. He has also won two of the three races.

Schumacher's time of 1:35.266 on a hot and sticky afternoon was 0.231 faster than Juan Pablo Montoya's in the quicker of the two Williams. But the German's achievement left no doubt that the Bridgestone tyres used by Ferrari were still a match in the hot conditions for the Michelins of Williams and McLaren.

"The fact that the pole time is slower than last year is surprising, but the important thing is that I am quickest," Schumacher said. "Maybe I could have gone quicker if I had waited to the very end of the session, but we chose to start my last run at that time because it seemed the best moment to avoid the traffic.

"After Australia, everyone was saying it was going to be easy for us, but today proved the situation is tight and I think it will be an interesting race tomorrow. Our tyre choice for the race is very good, so I am confident, but not as confident as in Australia. The weather could be a big factor as there is a chance of showers, so it is difficult to predict what will happen."

Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello could not match the pace of the German this time, after having outqualified him at the season opening race in Melbourne. The Ferrari driver had to be content with third place behind Colombian Montoya, more than seven tenths adrift of Schumacher.

"I am happy with my final lap time, even though one always thinks one can go quicker," he said. "I am happy I got the speed out of the car and managed to move a bit nearer the front of the grid.

"It was very tight for time at the end and that meant there was more pressure. But the track was quicker at the end and then it was a matter of getting a clear lap."