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 Australian GP: Qualifying Report

BARRICHELLO CLAIMS MELBOURNE POLE

After months of questions and rather inconclusive testing times the wait to see who’s fast and who is not is over.

Ferrari is clearly still the class of the field and with rain threatening and the track temperature low, Rubens Barrichello took advantage of his superior Bridgestone rubber and a superior chassis to claim Pole Position, the fourth of his career, for tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix.

Rubens had the advantage over Schumacher in qualifying and he was clearly delighted

Like the morning practice session, the qualifying hour was effectively halved thanks to rain falling. The Ferrari team, running three brand new 2001 specification chassis’, have dominated the entire race meeting so far and seem to be in a class of its own once again, while the Michelin runners were once again unhappy with the lower track temperatures.

Ferrari was criticised for its decision to run last year’s chassis, Juan Pablo Montoya among one of many claiming that the decision was “negative,” but the squad will lose little sleep over such calls as it again proved to be the class of the field and line up on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s race.

The provisional pole position changed hands a number of times, with first Rubens Barrichello, David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher, Michael Schumacher and then Barrichello again fastest with a stunning time of 1:25.843 – a time that would remain unbeaten.

"I’ve changed the approach to everything and I am more relaxed," Barrichello admitted. "I think I could have gone faster (but for the rain) but we were aware that it could rain."

Michael Schumacher starts from second position on the grid, just five-thousandths slower than the Ferrari number two.

"We’re both up-front and obviously quite happy with that," Schumacher said feeling rather pleased with Ferrari’s decision to run the older chassis.

Sato failed to make the 107% rule but will still be allowed to race

There were immediate problems for Takuma Sato, the British Formula Three Champion who has joined Jordan Honda this season. The Japanese crashed heavily in practice this morning and running the spare EJ12 in qualifying this afternoon, ground to a halt on his first lap out of the pits bringing out the red flags after just five minutes. Sato will undoubtedly start the race at the back of the grid despite being outside the questionable 107 percent rule.

Ralf Schumacher starts the Australian Grand Prix in third position in his BMW Williams admitting that his Michelin rubber is inferior to the Bridgestone tyres, ahead of David Coulthard in the McLaren Mercedes. With both teams running German V10 engines and Michelin rubber, BMW Williams and Ralf Schumacher will be satisfied with their grid positions.

Coulthard’s first run was not a good one as he spun away his first timed run when trying to pass Jacques Villeneuve. For a driver of his experience, it was a rookie error of impatience, while Villeneuve failed to use the new larger mirrors specified by the FIA.

Kimi Raikkonen had no problems on his way to qualifying in fifth position in what is his debut for the Woking squad ahead of the disgruntled Juan Pablo Montoya in the second BMW Williams entry.

Jarno Trulli achieved his and Renault’s ambition of qualifying inside the top ten in what is French manufacturer’s first works race since 1985. The Italian recorded the seventh position ahead of the Jordan Honda of Giancarlo Fisichella.

Heidfeld finished one place behind his rookie team-mate Felipe Massa

Felipe Massa takes the honour of being the fastest Rookie in the field qualifying his Sauber Petronas C21 in ninth position. Significantly, Massa managed to out-qualify his more experienced team-mate Nick Heidfeld who rounded out the top ten.

Jenson Button starts in 11th position in the second Renault ahead of Olivier Panis who managed to out-pace Jacques Villeneuve who starts his 100th race in Formula One since his debut in 1996.

Mika Salo impressed once again in the new Toyota team taking the 14th fastest time much to the delight of the German based team. Allan McNish was 16th fastest on his Grand Prix debut, underlining the fact that the Toyota F1 team is not simply another backmarker.

Of the rest, a special mention should go to home-town-hero Mark Webber who will tomorrow make his first Grand Prix start with Minardi from an impressive 18th position. Bringing up the rear of the grid as expected was Jaguar Racing and Webber’s Minardi team-mate Alex Yoong, both beaten by newcomers Toyota and underlining the fact that Jaguar in particular is in disarray with its grip-lacking R3-Cosworth.

And so to the teams pack up for the day and now prepare for the 58-lap Australian Grand Prix. With sunny conditions predicted who can stop Ferrari?

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