The unusually hot weather continued in England today and so a large crowd turned up early at the track today, early because free practice began at 9.30 and qualifying started at midday instead of 2 o'clock. The reason for this was clearly the fact that England was having its first game in the World Cup. The home team beat the South Americans 1-0 and the crowd at the circuit was able to watch the match on the big screens around the track.

As for the action on the track, qualifying was once again a very closely contested session. In the final twenty minutes where just the top ten runners fight it out for the best places on the grid, Michael Schumacher was actually provisionally on pole position until the closing moments when first Fernando Alonso took pole for Renault and then Kimi Raikkonen went second in his McLaren-Mercedes to drop the German driver down to third place on the second row. His Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team mate, Felipe Massa will line up alongside him tomorrow afternoon, having posted the fourth best time this afternoon. Row 3 sees the Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella in fifth place, just ahead of Rubens Barrichello in the Honda. Much to the disappointment of the home crowd, the Brazilian's team-mate Jenson Button did not have a good day and will start from 19th spot. The Englishman was not the only front runner to suffer here, as Mark Webber is 17th for Williams and Jarno Trulli is last for Toyota.

Overtaking is possible but difficult at the high-speed Silverstone track, so a lot will depend on the various strategies adopted by the different teams in terms of how much fuel they currently have on board and when they plan to make their first pit stops.

Jean Todt: "At the end of a very closely fought qualifying, we have ended up with two Ferraris on the second row. It shows that our car-engine-Bridgestone tyre package is competitive even when compared to our rivals and we expect that to be the case in tomorrow's race. The decisive factors will be the usual ones: reliability, strategy, consistent tyre performance. We have all the right elements in place to do well - the technical package, the talent of the drivers, the competence of the team and the Bridgestone tyres. Now we have to go head to head with the others to see if we are up to the task of winning. We will get the answer tomorrow afternoon."
 

Michael Schumacher: "Of course you always hope to be on pole and so it's normal to be disappointed with third place, even if, at this track, it's better to start from third than second. I did not expect such a gap to the pole time, but now we have to see what these tenths really mean, given that we don't know what fuel load our rivals have on board. I have to say that so far, it's not been an easy weekend. Track conditions mean it's been difficult to find the right balance on the car and the wind also added to the difficulties. The track is much more slippery now than when the test was held here a few weeks ago; at least that is what I'm told. But I am still pretty optimistic about tomorrow's race, as we know we can count on a package that can win, as long as we make the most of our potential and our strategy."

Felipe Massa: "I am pleased with the way things went this afternoon. It was definitely a good qualifying session. Of course, starting from the front row would have been better, but we still have every chance to attack off the second row. Let's wait and see what happens. What we want is to finish ahead of those who start from the front row of the grid. The entire team is working hard to close down the gap in both championships and we are doing our best."

Ross Brawn: "Perhaps the final result is a little bit disappointing, because we thought there was a chance of getting on pole. Having said that, I think that thanks to our strategy, we can try and recover the situation. The cars were very well balanced and from what we can see, the Bridgestone tyres perform very consistently over a long run. The times we set this morning on old tyres are encouraging. We can look to tomorrow's race with confidence. Track conditions are changing rapidly and I think we have found the right settings on the car to be competitive."

Final Qualifying Session - Michael Schumacher:  3rd 1.20.574 15 laps  chassis 254; Felipe Massa: 4th  1.20.764 15 laps chassis 250; Temperatures: air 26/27°C track 37°C