Pole time in 2000 - Michael Schumacher - 1:20.974

Spanish GP - Qualifying

Michael Schumacher grabs pole position just ahead of Mika Hakkinen. David Coulthard was 3rd followed by Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli. Villeneuve, Frentzen, Raikkonen and Heidfeld make the top 10.

60 min: Ralf Schumacher improves his time but remains in 5th.

59 min: Coulthard doesn't improve but Hakkinen jumps into 2nd only 0.085 seconds behind Michael!

58 min: All the drivers with remaining laps are on the track!.

57 min: Luciano Burti moves into 13th place ahead of his team-mate Jean Alesi. Michael Schumacher is on track.

57 min: Coulthard is out on his final run and so is Frentzen.

56 min: Jean Alesi (13) and Luciano Burti (17) start their final runs.

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

54 min: Enrique Bernoldi (15) and Tarso Marques (22) start their final runs

53 min: Nick Heidfeld takes 10th place just behind his team-mate.

52 min: Jacques Villeneuve moves into 7th place sandwiched between the 2 Jordans.

51 min: Rubens Barrichello moves into 3rd place.

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

49 min: Mika Hakkinen improves but remains in 3rd place. Trulli moves into 6th place ahead of his team-mate

48 min: Nick Heidfeld finally sets a time of 1:19.626 that puts him in 11th place.

47 min: David Coulthard fails to improve on his 3rd run. He has 1 run left and is 0.434 seconds behind Michael Schumacher at this stage.

46 min: Michael Schumacher improves slightly with a time of 1:18.201.

44 min: Michael Schumacher goes out on his second run.

42 min: All drivers have completed 2 runs except Michael Schumacher and Nick Heidfeld who had 1 each.

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

40 min: Pedro de la Rosa moves into 19th after suffering problems with his car. Heidfeld still needs to qualify.

39 min: Rubens Barrichello improves into 4th place.

38 min: Nick Heidfeld is having trouble and is currently in 21st. Pedro de la Rosa is also in trouble in 22nd.

37 min: Hakkinen improves but remains in 3rd while Ralf Schumacher jumps into 4th place.

36 min: Ralf Schumacher is back in 14th place and is on track to improve on that.

35 min: Top 10 - M Schumacher, Coulthard, Hakkinen, Barrichello, Frentzen, Raikkonen, Trulli, Panis, Villeneuve and Montoya.

34 min: Panis and Villeneuve jump into the top 10 in 8th and 9th.

33 min: Coulthard fails to improve while Trulli improves his time but remains in 7th place.

32 min: Coulthard, Trulli and Irvine on track

31 min: Both Villeneuve and Panis had bad first runs, Panis is 19th and Villeneuve last!

30 min: Top 10 - M Schumacher, Coulthard, Hakkinen, Barrichello, Frentzen, Raikkonen, Trulli, Montoya, Alesi and Irvine.

28 min: Michael Schumacher is 0.4 seconds faster than David Coulthard at this stage. We could see a pole time under the 1:18 mark.

27 min: Michael Schumacher grabs provisional pole with a time of 1:18.226. Frentzen moves into 5th.

26 min: Michael Schumacher and Heinz Harald Frentzen are on track.

25 min: Top 10 - Coulthard, Hakkinen, Barrichello, Raikkonen, Trulli, Montoya, Irvine, R Schumacher, Bernoldi and Burti.

24 min: Juan Pablo Montoya moves into 6th place.

23 min: Kimi Raikkonen moves into 3rd with at time of 1:19.229 but Barrichello takes 3rd from him with a time of 1:19.205.

22 min: Mika Hakkinen sets a time of 1:18.992 and moves into 2nd. Villeneuve goes off on his flying lap but recovers.

21 min: Eddie Irvine goes into 3rd with a time of 1:20.633. Hakkinen, Villeneuve and Barrichello on track.

20 min: The 2 Benettons and Montoya are on the track for their first run.

19 min: Jarno Trulli moves into second with a time of 1:19.442.

18 min: Jarno Trulli and Eddie Irvine join in the action while Coulthard sets a time of 1:18.635 - first.

17 min: Enrique Bernoldi takes provisional pole with a time of 1:20.962. This is already faster than the pole time of last year!

17 min: David Coulthard goes out on the track.

15 min: The order so far is Luciano Burti ahead of Jos Verstappen and Jean Alesi. Alonso and Marques make the top 5. No other driver has set a time yet.

13 min: Burti goes fastest with a time of 1:21.256 while Alonso sets a time of 1:21.622

12 min: Jos Verstappen takes provisional pole with a time of 1:21.307 while Luciano Burti and Fernando Alonso go out on their first run.

11 min: Jos Verstappen goes out on his first run. He was 16th fastest this morning.

9 min: No cars on the track. Every driver wants the other drivers to go out and lay rubber on the track to increase grip.

7 min: Tarso Marques is back in the pits and it is quiet now.

5 min: Tarso Marques sets a time of 1:23.496. That is almost a second better than his time this morning.

4 min: Tarso Marques is on the track. His best time this morning was outside the 107% time. He needs to do better if he is take part in the race tomorrow.

3 min: Jean Alesi pits after doing 3 laps. An out-lap, a flying lap and an in-lap.

2 min: Jean Alesi grabs provisional pole with a time of 1:21.415. That is over 0.7 seconds slower than his best time this morning.

1 min: Jean Alesi is the first man on the track. He finished 13th in practice.

David Coulthard dominated the sessions yesterday while Michael Schumacher dominated this morning. It looks like a straight fight between Ferrari and McLaren. Williams, Sauber, BAR and Jordan appear slightly behind. Session starting in 2 minutes.

This is the first qualifying session to be run with new drivers aids allowed including traction control, launch control and automatic gear-changers. The lap times compared to last year are already around 2 seconds quicker than last year. This is not only due to the driver aids but also due to the competition between the 2 tyre suppliers Bridgestone and Michelin. Session starting in 5 minutes.

Qualifying starting at 1:00 PM local time. That is 11:00 AM GMT, click here for the local time at Barcelona now