Michael Schumacher grabs Pole Position with a stunning display of dominance setting a time that is 0.8 seconds ahead of David Coulthard in second place. Rubens Barrichello was third ahead of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli. Hakkinen, Heidfeld, Montoya, Raikkonen and Villeneuve make the top 10.

60 min: Villeneuve moves into 10th with a time of 1:16.212.

60 min: Coulthard doesn't improve. Remains in second. Trulli takes fifth from Hakkinen!.

59 min: Coulthard on his last run trying hard but his splits are no match for Michael.

59 min: Michael Schumacher will not do any more runs. He is confident!

58 min: Jean Alesi takes 11th on his final run.

57 min: Raikkonen doesn't improve, he remains in 9th at this stage. Final run about to start.

56 min: Raikkonen on his final run and so are Irvine and Fisichella.

55 min: Barrichello doesn't improve and he runs out of laps. Remains in 3rd.

54 min: Nick Heidfeld moves into 7th place just behind Trulli. Barrichello on track.

53 min: Nick Heidfeld on the track for his 3rd run.

52 min: Top 10 - M Schumacher, Coulthard, Barrichello, R Schumacher, Hakkinen, Trulli, Montoya, Raikkonen, Heidfeld and Panis.

50 min: Michael Schumacher, Nick Heidfeld and Olivier Panis have only done 2 runs so far.

49 min: Hakkinen fails to improve and remains in 5th place. Alonso moves to 18th - Impressive from the young Spaniard.

48 min: Villeneuve aborts his run!, he is in 12th at the moment. Alesi moves into 15th place, clearly yet to come to grips with the Jordan. His team-mate Jarno Trulli is in 6th place!. Hakkinen on a flyer.

47 min: Villeneuve starts his third run while both Barrichello and Coulthard fail to improve.

45 min: Pedro de la Rosa moves into 11th place with a time of 1:16.543.

45 min: 15 minutes to go. Most drivers have completed 2 runs although Burti and Fisichella have completed 3 runs already.

44 min: Hakkinen trying too hard goes over the gravel and aborts his second run. He is in 5th.

43 min: Trulli improves but remains in 6th place. The best Honda runner so far.

43 min: Alonso and Marques are both in danger of not qualifying if Michael Schumacher improves further!

42 min: Montoya moves back into the top 10 with a time of 1:15.881.

41 min: Michael Schumacher takes another three tenths off his best time. His time is 1:14.059!

40 min: Top 10 - M Schumacher, Coulthard, Barrichello, R Schumacher, Hakkinen, Trulli, Raikkonen, Heidfeld, Panis and Villeneuve.

38 min: Panis takes 9th away from his team-mate Villeneuve. 

37 min: Villeneuve moves into 9th with a time of 1:16.564.

36 min: Irvine moves back into the top 10 ahead of Fisichella while Pedro de la Rosa moves to 12th.

34 min: Raikkonen takes 7th spot from his team-mate.

33 min: Coulthard moves into second place with a time of 1:14.860.

32 min: Coulthard starts his flyer.

31 min: All drivers have completed their first run. Alesi, Alonso and Coulthard are back for their second runs.

31 min: Michael Schumacher is half a second ahead of Barrichello and just under a second ahead of Hakkinen. Coulthard has yet to set a competitive time after being blocked in his first run by Frentzen.

30 min: Top 10 - M Schumacher, Barrichello, Hakkinen, Trulli, R Schumacher, Heidfeld, Raikkonen, Montoya, Fisichella and Irvine.

29 min: Michael Schumacher takes provisional pole with a time of 1:14.417!. Barrichello moves into 2nd!

28 min: Juan Pablo Montoya goes 6th. Michael Schumacher starts his flyer!

27 min: Hakkinen takes provisional pole with a time of 1:15.411.

27 min: Jarno Trulli takes provisional pole with a time of 1:15.692. Hakkinen starts his flyer.

26 min: Nick Heidfeld goes second with a time of 1:16.117.

26 min: Ralf Schumacher takes provisional pole with a time of 1:15.699. Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher on the track.

25 min: Coulthard slowed down by Frentzen in the Prost. Fisichella goes second with a time of 1:16.822!

24 min: Coulthard starts his flying lap. Ralf Schumacher on track.

24 min: Top 6 - Raikkonen, Irvine, Villeneuve, Alesi, de la Rosa and Burti

23 min: Coulthard and Fisichella on the track.

23 min: Irvine goes second with a time of 1:16.963.

22 min: Raikkonen takes provisional pole with a 1:16.309!

22 min: Raikkonen fast!

21 min: Alesi, Raikkonen, Verstappen and the 2 Jaguars are on the track.

20 min: Villeneuve sets a 1:17.003. He is faster than his best this morning.

19 min: So far the times are slower than this morning. Villeneuve starts his flying lap.

18 min: Villeneuve on the track. Burti sets a time of 1:18.987 and takes provisional pole.

17 min: Enrique Bernoldi sets a time of 1:19.493. That is slower than Alonso!

16 min: Finally Bernoldi and Burti appear on the track for their first run.

14 min: Qualifying is crucial here as overtaking on this track is almost impossible. Last year the top 6 on the grid finished the race in the top 6. The only overtaking was at the start and through the pit stops.

12 min: The Benetton team are still working on the spare car for Jenson Button as it was setup for Fisichella. But an engine failure just before the session started forced them to switch to the spare. Benetton are using special qualifying engines today.

10 min: No action since Alonso's first run. Everyone is waiting for everyone else to go out and clean the circuit (as usual)

6 min: It is interesting that Alonso went out so early in the session. It is not expected to see the cars come out until 10 or even 15 minutes into the session.

4 min: Fernando Alonso pits. No one on the track at the moment.

3 min: Fernando Alonso sets a time of 1:19.247. That is a second slower than his best time this morning.

2 min: Alonso starts his flying lap.

1 min: Fernando Alonso is already on the track!

Session underway and Jenson Button has an engine failure in the pits. Bad luck. He is now switching to the spare!

David Coulthard was fastest in the second practice session today ahead of Michael Schumacher however Michael didn't improve on his time from the first session so he will probably still improve on his time. Session starting in 2 minutes.

Considering the times set during the 4 practice sessions, Qualifying looks set to be a straight fight between the Ferraris and McLarens. Williams don't look as strong on this circuit although the Michelin tyres will give them an advantage given the 30 degree temperature. Session starting in 5 minutes.

Session starting at 1:00 PM local time. It is sunny with the air temperature at 30 degrees.