Raikkonen

NUERBURGRING, Germany -- Kimi Raikkonen seized his first Formula One pole position at the European Grand Prix on Saturday to pile pressure on Ferrari's Michael Schumacher.

The McLaren driver, three points behind overall leader Schumacher halfway through an unpredictable season, pipped his rival by a mere 0.032 of a second on the German's home territory.

Last on track in the decisive single lap qualifying session, the 23-year-old 'Iceman' kept his cool to clock a lap of one minute 31.523 seconds and shatter local hopes of an all-Schumacher front row.

Five-times world champion Schumacher's younger brother Ralf Schumacher, on pole for the last two races, was third fastest for BMW-powered Williams to share the second row with Colombian team mate Juan Pablo Montoya.

Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello and Renault's Jarno Trulli filled the third row.

By a remarkable coincidence, Raikkonen's McLaren predecessor Mika Hakkinen took the first pole of his Formula One career in a McLaren at the Nuerburgring in 1997.

"It's nice to know that some other Finnish bloke got his first pole here," said Raikkonen, deadpan, of the retired twice world champion.

The new rules introduced this season make Saturday qualifying a strategic puzzle, with cars running on different fuel levels.

But Raikkonen, who led the championship until Canada two weeks ago, was also fastest in Friday qualifying and sounded quietly confident of doing well in a home race for McLaren's engine partner Mercedes.

"Actually I didn't look at the screen so I didn't have any idea what the other cars had done," said the Finn, who has three times started from the back of the field after errors in Saturday qualifying.

"I just went out and tried to do my best.

"We improved the car a lot from the morning and it was pretty much perfect."

Raikkonen, who had twice started on the front row this year, had to dig deep into his memory to recall his last pole position. The answer was in 2000, when he dominated British Formula Renault.

Before his run, it looked like the Schumacher brothers would repeat their 2001 front row at a circuit that is close to their boyhood home at Kerpen.

"We're very close to the guys and I think our tyres will be quite good tomorrow," said Schumacher, whose Ferrari uses Bridgestones while McLaren and Williams are on Michelin.

"Second is a little bit dirtier line and you may lose out for this. We have to find out, it doesn't always make a difference."

Ralf and Montoya shared the front row in Canada and finished second and third then. Their laps on Saturday were almost identical, the same first split time and same top speeds but divided by 0.146 at the finish.

"I think we can be satisfied with what we achieved today," said Ralf. "I disagree with Michael, I think we have the upper hand with the tyres."

Germany's Nick Heidfeld will start at the back of the grid for Sauber after spinning and stalling on his lap. Canadian former champion Jacques Villeneuve also had a miserable afternoon for BAR, qualifying 17th.

Raikkonen leads Friday qualifying
Raikkonen took the fight to Michael Schumacher on Friday with the top time in first qualifying for Sunday's European Grand Prix.

The Finn, three points adrift of Ferrari's world champion after the German took back the lead in Canada two weeks ago, powered his McLaren around his rival's home track in one minute 29.989 seconds.

Schumacher, chasing his fifth win of the year Sunday and his 50th for Ferrari to become the first driver to score 1,000 championship points, was second quickest with a time 0.364 slower than the 23-year-old.

"The car has been good and the tires were really good, I'm quite happy to be first on Friday," said Raikkonen, who got his lap in before the skies opened and drenched the circuit for the later runners.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya and his Williams teammate, Ralf Schumacher, were third and fourth fastest respectively with Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, winner at the Nuerburgring last year, fifth for Ferrari.

Briton David Coulthard was sixth for McLaren.

Raikkonen left no doubt about his intentions to regain the initiative in what is also a home race for his team's engine partners Mercedes but Ferrari remained confident.

"I think there is still room for improvement on the car, given that they were not perfectly balanced on a light fuel load," said Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn.

"The key will be to see how our rivals' tires last over a distance. From what we saw this morning, we might have an advantage."

The Nuerburgring's capricious climate favored the front-runners and ended the hopes of the tail-enders as rain fell halfway through the session.

The deteriorating conditions saw a switch to extreme weather tyres, with spray billowing out behind the cars and reduced visibility.

Some of the later drivers were more than 27 seconds slower than Raikkonen, who starts last in Saturday's decisive session.

Australian Mark Webber struggled to keep his Jaguar on the slippery circuit and Brazilian Cristiano da Matta, for Toyota, and BAR's former champion Jacques Villeneuve failed to clock times after spinning.

Canadian Villeneuve skidded off into the gravel trap, halting the session to allow marshals to remove his car -- the second race in a row that he has failed to finish a Friday qualifying lap.

France's Olivier Panis, who gave the Cologne-based Toyota team a boost with the fastest time in free practice for their local race, finished a disappointing 17th with Jaguar's Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia 18th.

"The surface water by that stage was unbearable," said Pizzonia. "The car was sliding around all over the place, and it was also difficult to see because my visor was so steamed up."