Webber Fastest in First Qualifying - Brazilian GP

Australian Mark Webber shot to the top of the times in Friday qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix when he benefited from a drying track following changing conditions at Interlagos.

Torrential downpours at the Interlagos circuit led several drivers to instigate a petition against the session going ahead on safety grounds but after the rain abated it was given the go-ahead. Webber, the second to last man out on the track in a session which was run in championship order, rocketed to the top of the times with a lap of 1:23.111.

Until then, it had looked like provisional pole for local hero Rubens Barrichello, who is determined to win his home Grand Prix this year and set a time of 1:23.249. He finished second, with Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren third and teammate David Coulthard, of Scotland, fourth and World Champion Michael Schumacher fifth in the second Ferrari.

Championship leader Raikkonen was the first man out on track when the session began and he put in a cool lap to set a time of 1:24.607 in his McLaren-Mercedes. His teammate Coulthard was next but he failed to beat Raikkonen's time and slotted in just behind on 1:24.655 and Juan Pablo Montoya wasted his chance of going top when he spun his Williams in turn six.

It took a cool lap from Barrichello to beat the flying Finn and his lap of 1:23.249 saw him shoot to the top of the times more than a second faster than his McLaren rival. Fernando Alonso was also calm as he set a solid lap to ensure he starts late in Saturday's qualifying session but Schumacher, who was the first man out after the first advertisement break, was not so good.

The German driver was hit by more bad luck when the torrential rain began to fall again and he spun his Ferrari on his out lap. Even so, he gathered it together to slot in behind Coulthard with a lap time of 1:25.585 which was good enough for fourth place in the timesheets.

Briton Jenson Button crashed through the markers as the rain continued and he opted to abort his lap and return to the pits after failing to set a competitive time. The session was stopped briefly because the marker boards where Button went off, heading towards turn six, were broken and scattered but it was soon underway again as the weather eased.

Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia delighted his home fans when, on a drying track, he clocked a time of 1:25.764 to claim eighth before Webber went even better to shine up the faces of Jaguar Racing.

Pos Driver Team T1 T2 Time 1. (19) Webber Jaguar Cosworth (M) 21.057 1:23.111 2. (4) Barrichello Ferrari (B) 21.097 1:04.755 1:23.249 + 0.138 3. (1) Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 21.833 1:06.078 1:24.607 + 1.496 4. (2) Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 21.576 1:06.158 1:24.655 + 1.544 5. (6) M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 21.351 1:05.758 1:25.585 + 2.474 6. (20) Panis Toyota (M) 21.524 1:25.614 + 2.503 7. (12) Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 21.626 1:06.623 1:25.672 + 2.561 8. (17) Pizzonia Jaguar Cosworth (M) 21.800 1:25.764 + 2.653 9. (5) Alonso Renault (M) 22.115 1:07.064 1:26.203 + 3.092 10. (9) Frentzen Sauber Petronas (B) 21.711 1:06.937 1:26.375 + 3.264 11. (15) da Matta Toyota (M) 22.032 1:07.656 1:26.554 + 3.443 12. (7) Trulli Renault (M) 22.249 1:07.172 1:26.557 + 3.446 13. (8) R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 21.672 1:07.228 1:26.709 + 3.598 14. (16) Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 22.192 1:26.726 + 3.615 15. (14) Verstappen Minardi Cosworth (B) 22.039 1:07.596 1:26.886 + 3.775 16. (11) Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 21.883 1:07.114 1:27.111 + 4.000 17. (3) Montoya Williams BMW (M) 21.357 1:08.892 1:27.961 + 4.850 18. (13) Firman Jordan Ford (B) 22.258 1:28.083 + 4.972 19. (18) Wilson Minardi Cosworth (B) 22.877 1:28.317 + 5.206 20. (10) Button BAR Honda (B) 21.891 1:19.156 No Time Top Speed: 287.3 (Montoya, Williams) All Timing Unofficial

Due to problems with the timing device on the second sector, sector times are not available from this session.