Michael Schumacher seized pole position for the French Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday as Ferrari swept the front row for the second race in succession. The 37-year-old German, seven times a winner at the Magny-Cours circuit, lapped a mere 0.017 seconds quicker than Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa for his 68th career pole and fourth in 11 races. The one-two on the starting grid was the Italian team’s third of the season.

Ferrari’s achievement dashed Renault’s hopes of celebrating their 50th Formula One pole position in front of their home crowd, with world champion Fernando Alonso clocking the third quickest time. Alonso, 19 points ahead of Schumacher in the championship after six wins this year, will start alongside Italian Jarno Trulli’s Toyota.

“I’m happy to be third,” said Alonso, runaway winner at Magny-Cours last year. “I have a competitive and very consistent car in the long runs and I think my chance will come to me tomorrow. For one lap we were not quick enough and we knew that, so it’s not a big surprise. “I think I have nothing to lose, I have a 19-points advantage and am leading the championship,” the Spaniard added. “The risk is for the others.”

Schumacher’s pole came after a morning scare when a heat-shield on his Ferrari caught fire as he stopped in the pits after completing just five laps in the final free practice session. “It didn’t really help,” said Schumacher, whose team mate Massa had a clutch problem in practice. “We managed to get into the first row and that’s pretty impressive.” Germany’s Ralf Schumacher, in a Toyota, was fifth and starts on the third row with McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen.

[Reuters]

STARTING LINEUP:

1. 5 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1′15″493 210.345 Km/h
2. 6 MASSA Ferrari B 1′15″510 210.298 Km/h
3. 1 ALONSO Renault M 1′15″785 209.535 Km/h
4. 8 TRULLI Toyota B 1′16″036 208.843 Km/h
5. 7 R.SCHUMACHER Toyota B 1′16″091 208.692 Km/h
6. 3 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1′16″281 208.172 Km/h
7. 2 FISICHELLA Renault M 1′16″345 207.998 Km/h
8. 4 DE LA ROSA McLaren Mercedes M 1′16″632 207.219 Km/h
9. 10 ROSBERG Williams Cosworth B 1′18″272 202.877 Km/h
10. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Ferrari M 1′18″663 201.869 Km/h
11. 9 WEBBER Williams Cosworth B 1′16″129 208.588 Km/h
12. 16 HEIDFELD BMW Sauber M 1′16″294 208.137 Km/h
13. 15 KLIEN RedBull Ferrari M 1′16″433 207.758 Km/h
14. 11 BARRICHELLO Honda M 1′17″027 206.156 Km/h
15. 21 SPEED Toro Rosso Cosw. M 1′17″063 206.060 Km/h
16. 19 ALBERS Midland Toyota B 1′17″105 205.948 Km/h
17. 20 LIUZZI Toro Rosso Cosw. M 1′17″164 205.790 Km/h
18. 17 VILLENEUVE BMW Sauber M 1′17″304 205.418 Km/h
19. 12 BUTTON Honda M 1′17″495 204.911 Km/h
20. 18 MONTEIRO Midland Toyota B 1′17″589 204.663 Km/h
21. 23 MONTAGNY S. Aguri F1 Honda B 1′18″637 201.935 Km/h
22. 22 SATO S. Aguri F1 Honda B 1′18″845 201.403 Km/h

DRIVER QUOTES:

Michael Schumacher:

“I am very happy! Pole position with Felipe starting alongside me - we cannot ask for more! I have to admit I am a bit surprised at the result, especially in light of the fact we started qualifying without much of a reference point after the problems we had this morning in practice. I want to thank all the mechanics, who did a fantastic job to fix the car.” “The Bridgestones are performing very well. It’s great to have repeated the Indianapolis qualifying result, but now I also want to repeat the race result from there, as it is important to pick up as many points as possible. Our aim for tomorrow is obvious: to win.”

Felipe Massa:

“This morning I had a clutch problem, which the team was able to fix, but only just before the start of qualifying. A big thank you to the mechanics for doing a fantastic job in getting the car ready in time. The car seems to be working well, it is competitive, as are the Bridgestone tyres. I am very happy to be on the front row for the second time in a row, my third this season.” “For tomorrow, having new tyres in the race will make a big difference so it will be interesting to see who will have that advantage. In practice we were competitive on used tyres and I hope we can maintain a good pace in tomorrow’s high temperatures over the long runs so that we can stay in front.”

Fernando Alonso:

“I am pleased with third position, because after Indianapolis I think it is important for me to be among the top cars in qualifying. We knew that Ferrari would be very competitive on a single lap, but I did my maximum today and I am feeling confident for the race.” “The conditions out there were very hot, and we expect similar temperatures for tomorrow, so we will need to see how the tyre performance evolves — but so far, the Michelins have looked consistent on the longer runs. “Qualifying was quite enjoyable today — I had a little battle with Michael in the third part because we both wanted to have a clear track for the fuel burning laps, and it was fun to pass each other. The real business comes tomorrow though. The grip levels will be improving all the way through the race so we need to wait and see how things develop.

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