Saturday March 2nd, 2002

While Ralf Schumacher was happy with third place in today's qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, teammate Juan Pablo Montoya was disappointed after having to settle for sixth position.

Schumacher, who was the quickest of the Michelin runners with the BMW-powered FW24, took advantage of a good timing to finish today's session less than half a second behind the two Ferraris, who will start from the front row in Sunday's race.

"Of course I am pleased with my result," said Schumacher. "As we knew it would start raining, we feared we would miss the best moment for having a quick lap. But our timing was good. It is a pity for Juan, who was blocked on his flying lap, as our team result could have been even better. I just had a bit of understeer, which we should get sorted out by tomorrow."

Montoya, in his second visit to the Melbourne circuit after making his Grand Prix debut there last season, was less than two tenths slower than his German teammate, yet was disappointed with the result after being held in his only run in the dry.

"I had only one run and I think I lost about six or eight tenths because Fisichella held me up," said Montoya. "That was a bit disappointing because there was a lot more to come in the car. But anyway, I feel well prepared for tomorrow. In the morning session we have found out quite a few useful things."

Published at 05:45:41 GMT