At 14:00 precisely Heinz-Harald heads down the pitlane, the session begins.

Over the line he begins his flying lap, at the first split it's 20.120 followed by 58.467 at the second. It's a smooth but uninspiring lap, with traces of oversteer. 1:17.402 he sets the benchmark, but it's not brilliant.

Cristiano da Matta is next out, the Toyotas have been dreadful so far this weekend. 20.128 at the first split, he's down on the Sauber already. Last year the red and white cars were impressive here, not this year. 58.186 at the second split, he's made up about a quarter of a second. 1:16.744 the Brazilian goes quickest despite a big lock up at the chicane where Jenson crashed this morning.

Team-mate Olivier Panis is next out, he won here in 1996. 20.259 at the first split, 58.729 at the second split he's half a second down on his team-mate already. 1:17.464 a poor third for Olivier.

Justin Wilson is on track, can the Minardis finish ahead of the Toyotas as they did on Thursday? 21.081 at the first split and 1:00.723 at the second, the car is all over the place. 1:20.063, the Englishman goes fourth.

20.508 at the first split for Jos Verstappen the Minardi oversteering like crazy. At the second split it's 59.707, he's 1.5 down on da Matta. 1:18.706 over the line, the Dutchman goes fourth.

At the first 'break' it's: da Matta, Frentzen, Panis, Verstappen and Wilson.

Next out is Antonio Pizzonia, up until now the Brazilian's had a quiet weekend, once again he's been upstaged by his Australian team-mate. 20.146 at the first split, he's down on da Matta but pushing hard. At the second split he posts 58.540, a third of a second down on his fellow Brazilian. 1:17.103 and Jungle Boy goes second though we still have 14 more drivers to go.

19.786 at the first split for Fernando Alonso, the Renault looking very smooth. At the second split it's 57.437, he's 0.7s up on da Matta. 1:15.884 over the line, it's a good lap and takes him to the top of the timesheets.

Jordan's Ralph Firman is next out, this is another driver having a 'quiet' weekend. At the first split it's 19.889 only slightly down on Alonso. At the second split he posts 58.264 he's very, very aggressive, but it looks controlled. 1:17.452 over the line, he goes fifth, he lost a heap of time in the final sector.

Now it's the turn of Jacques Villeneuve, the only BAR runner we'll be seeing today. 20.141 at the first split, he's 0.3s down on Alonso already. At the second split he posts 58.175, he's now 0.7s down on the Spaniard. 1:16.755 is good enough for third but surprisingly ahead of da Matta.

Championship leader Kimi Raikkonen is next out, he posts 19.787 at the first split, he's down on Alonso by 0.001s. At the second split the Finn posts 57.038 he's now up on Alonso by 0.3s. Over the line it's 1:15.295 quickest today, but is it good enough for pole?

At the second break the order is: Raikkonen, Alonso, da Matta, Villeneuve, Pizzonia, Frentzen, Firman, Panis, Verstappen and Wilson.

Nick Heidfeld takes to the track, the German keen to give a good performance here this weekend. 20.048 at the first split for the Sauber star, he's down on Raikkonen by 0.2s. At the second split it's 58.365, he's lost more than a second in that sector. 1:17.176 over the line he leapfrogs his team-mate. To take sixth.

Mark Webber posts 19.881 at the first split, he's just a fraction down on Raikkonen. At the second split he posts 57.870, he's lost 0.8s in that sector. 1:16.237 is good enough for third, a good tidy lap but the Aussie is sure to be disappointed with that second sector.

Juan Pablo Montoya is next out, he was on pole last year. At the first split he posts 19.811 slightly down on current pole-man Raikkonen. At the second split it's 27.218 a mere 0.181 off Kimi's time. Over the line it's 1:15.415 the Colombian goes second.

Brazil GP winner Giancarlo Fisichella is next out, neither Jordan has been that impressive this weekend.. so far. At the first split it's 20.034, the Roman absolutely adores this circuit, and it shows. At the second split it's 58.398 he's 1.3s off the pace. At the line it's 1:16.967 the Italian goes seventh, he'll be disappointed.

Ralph Schumacher is next out, the German will be keen to steal some of his team-mate's thunder. At the first split he posts 19.781, he's quickest by 0.006s.. looking good. At the second split it's 57.018, he's still quickest. Over the line he posts 1:15.259 to take provisional pole, a sensational lap by the German, he'll be delighted.

At the third and final break the order is: Ralf, Raikkonen, Montoya, Alonso, Webber, da Matta, Villeneuve, Fisichella, Pizzonia and Heidfeld.

Now however - and with no offence to the others - it's the turn of the 'big guns', as David Coulthard, the only man to break the 1:14s barrier this weekend, takes to the track.

At the first split the McLaren star posts 19.799 he's down on Ralf by 0.08s. He's pushing hard but is it enough? At the second split it's 57.447 he's now almost half a second down on Ralf. 1:15.700 for the Scot, he'll be disappointed to be fourth.. though we still have Trulli and the two Ferraris to come.

Jarno Trulli is next out the Italian keen to out-pace his Spanish team-mate. At the first split he posts 19.716 he's up on Ralf, only marginally but he's still up. At the second split it's 57.339 he's lost 0.3s. Over the line it's 1:15.500 he goes fourth leapfrogging Coulthard.

Rubens Barrichello begins his flying lap, around the circuit all eyes are on the Brazilian. At the first split it's 19.805 he's 0.024s down on Ralf, there's still time to be made up. At the second split he posts 57.301 he's now 0.283s down on Ralf. At the line it's 1:15.820 he goes sixth, he'll be bitterly disappointed with that.

Finally it's the turn of the reigning world Champion Michael Schumacher, just what can he do? At the first split he posts 19.678 he's quickest by 0.103s he's really pushing and comes oh so close to the barriers. At the second split it's 57.300 he's lost time, what can he do in the final sector? 1:15.644 over the line the German goes fifth meaning that Ralf and Kimi will start from the front row.

Michelin runners make up the first four, indeed the only Bridgestone runners in the top ten are Schumacher (5th) and Barrichello (7th)

This is Ralf's second ever pole, and what a place to take it especially as he'll be alongside the World Championship leader Kimi Raikkonen. The second row with Montoya and Trulli also looks good especially with Schumacher, DC, Barrichello and Alonso breathing down their necks.

As ever strategy will be a factor here, are we really going to believe that da Matta (10th) has suddenly found some pace in the Toyota?