SHANGHAI, 26 September 2004 — Ferrari yesterday took first and last position for today’s Chinese Grand Prix, with Rubens Barrichello achieving his second pole position in a row, but Michael Schumacher will start from last on the grid after spinning in the first corner.
Barrichello posted a time of one minute 34.012 seconds for the 5.451km-long track to beat McLaren-Mercedes’ Kimi Raikkonen into second place by 0.166 seconds.
The Brazilian, who achieved the 12th pole of his career and won the last race in Monza two weeks ago ahead of his teammate Schumacher, said afterward that he was very happy with his performance.
“One has to make sure that one finds the right line for the first two corners, but I think I managed to do that today. Hopefully, things will go well during the race.”
The second row on the grid belongs to Jenson Button in a BAR-Honda and Brazilian Felipe Massa, who capitalized on Sauber’s improvement to record the fourth fastest time.
Ralf Schumacher was the best of the two Williams-BMW drivers. The German, who has only just returned to Formula One racing after a three-month injury pause, will start from the third row after finishing with the fifth best time.
Fernando Alonso in a Renault, who was sixth, will be beside the German.
The second Sauber of Giancarlo Fisichella will start from seventh place on the grid next to Olivier Panis in a Toyota.
Jacques Villeneuve, 1997 world champion, is making his Grand Prix comeback in a Renault after having sat out for nearly a year after leaving BAR last season. He clocked the 13th fastest time for a place in the seventh row of the grid beside Ricardo Zonta in a Toyota.
Michael Schumacher, who was fastest in the final practice session before the qualifying, spun in the first corner, but managed to get the car onto the track again before merely completing the lap without trying to set a time.
He will start alongside Gianmaria Bruni, who also failed to record a time.
The seven-time world champion said that he was not sure what went wrong. “We have the whole night to test the car and see if something is wrong and we then have the chance to fix it.”
During the last Grand Prix in Monza two weeks ago, Schumacher spun on the first corner, but then fought his way back to finish second behind Barrichello. He will now be hoping to achieve something just as spectacular in today’s race.
The race will be the first Grand Prix ever staged in China. The new Shanghai International Circuit is not only considered the most modern in racing, it is also the most expensive, having been built at a cost of $315 million.
Ahead of the 16th race of the season, Michael Schumacher has already been assured of the driver’s championship, while Ferrari has won the constructor’s title.
