Saturday March 2nd, 2002

Ferrari drivers Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher have admitted they will have discussions over the start of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix after qualifying alongside each other on the front row.

Barrichello beat Schumacher by just five thousandths of a second in qualifying on Saturday to take the first pole of the season. The Brazilian is keen to race for a win rather than make way for his World Champion teammate and he believes that the team will give him the go-ahead to try to beat Schumacher in the race around Albert Park.

"I think Ferrari would be happy whatever driver it is to win and to finish second," said Barrichello. "We are here to win the race tomorrow. We're going to have a start tomorrow and then we see how the race progresses. I'm fairly confident that we have a good set up and we know the car very well, so rain or dry we feel that it can suit any situation."

When asked about a pact for the first corner, especially if the wet weather continues in Melbourne, Schumacher simply said: "Let's talk about this."

Barrichello added: "We can talk later", and the pair then revealed they may make a deal on the first corner over dinner on Saturday night. "We always discuss," Schumacher added.

Despite being at the very start of the season, the Australian race has seen in-team deals come into play before. The most notable was that between the McLaren drivers in 1998, when leader David Coulthard pulled over to make way for teammate Mika Hakkinen to spark a row over deliberate team play.

Published at 08:09:11 GMT