Start will be crucial, says Michael

The world champion said he was confident Ferrari could bounce back on its home tarmac from a disappointing qualifying session which saw him demoted to fourth, ending a long-running string of pole positions.

He would have equalled the late Ayrton Senna's record of eight consecutive poles had he topped the times - but that crumbled as David Coulthard took pole for the first time since last July.

And Schumacher was also bettered by Mika Hakkinen, second on the grid, and his brother Ralf, third for BMW-Williams.

The German's grid position in Imola is his worst since the British Grand Prix a year ago when he was returning to the scene of his leg-breaking accident a year before that.

"I can't always be on pole," he said after clocking a time of one minute and 23.593 seconds. "But let's see what kind of start I have tomorrow from this position. We have still got a chance

"I am disappointed, but I can't help that because this is Imola. I am not angry and really it is not such a bad thing."

The triple title-winner once again blamed himself for his car's lack of pace.

"The reason for us not being fastest is mainly my own fault," admitted Schumacher, who also said his incorrect choice of set-up for the Brazilian Grand Prix two weeks ago cost Ferrari victory. "I was two-tenths of a second slower in the last sector and the lap before that I over-braked, which caused lots of vibrations."

Schumacher also believes rivals McLaren have the upper hand in qualifying because they opted for softer Bridgestone tyres. He added: "We had a different tyre choice from McLaren and the tyres McLaren selected were very good for qualifying. Ours did not do so well.

"I am surprised to see David Coulthard on pole especially with such a big gap over me and Mika. I wasn't expecting that at all."