Schumacher welcomes Raikkonen pace

Ferrari's seven-time world champion Schumacher, gunning for his third pole in a row in what some fans fear could be his last appearance on home soil, had to settle for second place on the starting grid.

"We are quite happy to have a strong opponent with us," said Schumacher of Raikkonen, "and having Alonso where he is right now," added Schumacher, who was 0.135 seconds slower but remains well placed to chase a hat-trick of wins on Sunday.

"That's obviously a good starting point."

Renault's world champion Fernando Alonso, winner at Hockenheim last year and 17 points clear of Schumacher in the championship with seven races remaining, qualified a distant seventh.

The Spaniard, celebrating his 25th birthday, almost collided with his 37-year-old German rival in the pitlane in the heat of the battle.

"I exited the pitlane and once I was out I saw that Fernando was pretty close to me," Schumacher said of the incident. "I wasn't aware that he was there, because there were so many people, so much mess and it was so tight.

"If he felt there was some problem for him, then I'm sorry for that. But that's the way it goes sometimes."

Schumacher's teammate Felipe Massa boosted Schumacher's chances of reducing the gap to Alonso by qualifying in third.