Reigning World Champion Michael Schumacher clinched his fourth pole position of the season this afternoon after blitzing the opposition on his Bridgestone Potenza Formula One tyres. The Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver was fastest in each of the sectors on the 4.627km Circuit de Catalunya and crossed the line in a time of 1m15.022s over six tenths faster than nearest rival Montoya. Teammate Rubens Barrichello will start tomorrow's 66-lap Spanish Grand Prix from the third row.

Fellow Bridgestone runners Sauber Petronas' Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa, meanwhile, showed an impressive turn of speed in the pre-qualifying session and although they will line up tomorrow from the sixth and eighth rows of the grid respectively, are set to benefit from Bridgestone's ability to provide a consistent and fast race tyre.

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport:
"A great pole position for Michael and Bridgestone. It was his fourth this year which is an impressive record in just five races. We know we have good race tyres so to see this afternoon's qualifying performance was especially pleasing. The Bridgestone tyres have proven to be extremely consistent in the Friday and Saturday practices over long runs and we have had no problems with tyre wear so I expect all our teams to be competitive tomorrow in the race. Sauber and Jordan should be able to use this to their advantage and I expect Rubens, in particular, to regain a front position before long. All in all, a positive start to the weekend."

Ross Brawn, Technical Director of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro:
"This afternoon's time was what we expected. It is certainly going to be exciting with Michael and Juan Pablo on the front row of the grid! It should please the crowd. Michael was pretty impressive and I think with the Bridgestone tyre we've got Rubens should also have a good race tomorrow if we're patient and see how things go. The start will be critical but we should be strong. We've seen already that our rivals are quick in one lap but then seem to degrade a lot whilst we're quick in the middle of the stint. The key will be to unlock [our] performance in the middle stint."