BARCELONA, Spain, 9 May 2004 — World champion Michael Schumacher put himself on course for a fourth consecutive Spanish Grand Prix victory when he blew away the opposition in qualifying to comfortably claim pole position here yesterday.

The German Ferrari driver, who has won all four races so far this season, has been unbeatable at the Circuit de Catalunya in the last three years and he burst the bubble of rivals BAR-Honda with his fourth pole of the season.

His time of one minute 15.022sec put him 0.617secs clear of closest contender Juan Pablo Montoya, of Williams, while his expected challenger, British BAR-Honda driver Jenson Button, threw his chance away with a mistake.

Button’s brief off put him down in 14th place but his Japanese teammate Takuma Sato ensured that BAR can still fight at the front by claiming the third fastest time.

All of the 13 previous races here have been won by one of the top three drivers on the grid and Schumacher is now hot favorite after finishing more than a second clear of fourth-placed Renault driver Jarno Trulli.

Schumacher’s Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello claimed fifth place on the grid — equaling his worst starting position of the season — while German Ralf Schumacher, of Williams, and Frenchman Olivier Panis, of Toyota, finished sixth and seventh.

Home hero Fernando Alonso, cheered on by a fanatical Catalan crowd, will start from the fourth row after qualifying eighth, one place ahead of Australian Mark Webber, who put in a strong and encouraging performance for Jaguar.

Scot David Coulthard, of McLaren-Mercedes, secured the final spot in the top ten while his teammate Finn Kimi Raikkonnen continued to struggle and managed only 13th fastest.

Giorgio Pantano made a mistake early in the session but was able to continue after a trip across the gravel at turn seven before Alonso delighted his home fans in the packed grandstands when he set the fastest time on his run.

He was soon beaten by Barrichello and Button looked set to cruise to the top after going four tenths of a second faster than Barrichello in the first sector but he made a mistake and finished behind Brazilian Toyota driver Cristiano da Matta.

Button’s Japanese teammate Takuma Sato made no mistake on his run and he shot his way up to provisional pole position with a time 0.463 seconds faster than Barrichello.