19.06.2004 Rubens Barrichello has taken his first pole of the season, chopping two tenths off Michael Schumacher, who lines up next to him: Ferrari qualifying report from Indianapolis

Starting last, after topping final practice earlier, Rubens Barrichello, who has set the pace at Indianapolis all weekend, stormed around Indianapolis quickest, slicing two tenths off team-mate Michael Schumacher's provisional pole time, to line up for tomorrow's United States Grand Prix first.

Schumacher, joins the Brazilian at the front to make it an all Ferrari first row, while Takuma Sato and Jenson Button, the Briton complaining of excessive understeer, fill the second row for the BAR-Honda team.

Behind these four are the Williams-BMW pair, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher, and Kimi Raikkonen in possibly the last outing for the unloved McLaren-Mercedes MP4-19 chassis.

The Renault's recent strong form dipped around Indianapolis, Fernando Alonso was a disappointing ninth, while Jarno Trulli, whose flying lap was scuppered by gearbox problems, will start from the back.

It becomes the sixth pole position of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, and the first for Rubens Barrichello. It is the fourth time that a Ferrari driver has been quickest in qualifying at Indianapolis. For Rubens it is career pole number ten, while Ferrari has now reached 172.

Jean Todt: 'It will be nice to see an all-red front row on the grid tomorrow, here in the United States which is Ferrari's biggest market. The cars worked very well and the Bridgestones proved to be excellent over a single lap. Now we come to the most important part of the weekend. A 73 lap race on the Indianapolis circuit which is very hard on engines is very difficult. As usual, the same parameters of reliability, strategy and tyre performance will be the key factors for everyone.'

Rubens Barrichello: 'It is great to take pole here at Indy where there were so many Brazilians cheering, I could even hear them in the cockpit. The car has been good all weekend, although I think Michael made a bit more progress than me today. Before pre-qualifying, we made a small change to my car that was an improvement.

'In the first sector, the car did not feel so good but then it improved in the second sector, which is important, as it is the longest. I think I am driving better now than at any point this season. Although I am naturally a right foot braker, I have been using my left also now and like a footballer who can score with both feet has an advantage, it means my driving has improved. Now I am looking forward to having a great race tomorrow.'

Michael Schumacher: 'I cannot complain, because I am on the front row with my team-mate alongside me, so we have to be happy with that. Of course I would prefer to be first, but Rubens has done a better job than me and to be honest I expected to be further back. I lost the lap in the second sector where the car was sliding around too much, especially in a couple of corners, where Rubens obviously found a better solution than me, But that is our strength in that we always push each other and that means we have to give 100% all the time. I will still be aiming for the win tomorrow and I expect an interesting fight between us and also with whoever else comes along.'

Ross Brawn: 'We are very happy to have taken the two top spots on the grid. Barrichello's pole is not at all surprising for us. Rubens has been very strong right from the start of the weekend and he did a great lap in qualifying. In some races in this first part of the season, he had some hard times, but now he is on great form.

'For his part, Michael made a couple of mistakes in this second sector and this probably explains the result. Bridgestone has given us an excellent tyre for this race and if we get a good start, everything is in place for us to get a good result.'

Pre-qualifying session, Rubens Barrichello: 1st 1.09.454 3 laps chassis 236, Michael Schumacher: 9th 1.10.129 3 laps chassis 239, Temperatures: air 23° C, track 35° C

Qualifying session Rubens Barrichello: 1st 1.10.223 3 laps chassis 236, Michael Schumacher: 2nd 1.10.400 3 laps chassis 239, Temperatures: air 24/28° C, track 38/39° C