Malaysian GP Bridgestone qualifying notes

Michael Schumacher maintained his unbeaten qualifying run in Malaysia by snatching pole position from his younger brother Ralf in the final moments of today's session. The Schumacher brothers and Ferrari's other driver Rubens Barrichello battled hard for the fastest lap, all with times under 1m 36s. In the end, Barrichello took second fastest time, making an all Bridgestone front row, and pushing Ralf back to third place in the BMW Williams. Fourth fastest was Mika Hakkinen but his West McLaren Mercedes team-mate David Coulthard will start the race from 8th position. Jarno Trulli, who was quickest in yesterday's practice for Jordan Honda, qualified 5th. Juan Pablo Montoya in the other BMW Williams and Jacques Villeneuve for BAR Honda completed the top eight.

Adrian Newey -- Technical Director -- West McLaren Mercedes "The grid is fairly close together. Mika is at the top of the second group. The Ferraris seem to have an edge at the moment. Our car was not too bad in the morning but our performance slipped in qualifying. We are not too concerned about tyre wear; on Bridgestones, we know it is unlikely to be a problem."

Malcolm Oastler -- Technical Director -- Lucky Strike BAR Honda "We had no problems with the car, although as always we did not get the maximum from it. But there are many others on the grid who can tell the same story. The level of competitiveness and the closeness of the grid in Formula 1 now is amazing, especially now that Bridgestone has a competitor. We had almost decided yesterday which tyres to go for and qualifying confirmed that decision for us. We are quite confident the cars will be equally good in the race and we have no concerns about the tyres at all."

Hisao Suganuma - Technical Manager - Bridgestone Motorsport "Although it was difficult for everybody today, I believe that our tyres will perform consistently throughout the race tomorrow. Tyres will be a very important factor in the race, especially from the point of view of durability. I am confident that our tyres will last the race distance in good shape."

-Bridgestone