Cloud 9

On the other hand, seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was the slowest driver to complete a lap. Schumacher, who won 13 out of 18 races last season, had to change from dry-weather tyres to those better suited to the squally conditions.

‘‘All I can say today is that we were unlucky’’, said Schumacher. ‘‘Obviously this result will impact greatly on the race. All the same we will try and bring home some points or even something better. I don’t think a podium is out of the question, but it will be very difficult.’’

As predicted in these columns, the wildly erratic Melbourne weather played havoc with today’s qualifying session. As rain affected the performance of several drivers, Karthikeyan performed better than established stars Rubens Barrichello, the Schumacher brothers, Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Barrichello readily admitted that the Ferraris were so far off the pace that they were under considerable pressure for tomorrow’s second qualifying session.

‘‘It will be impossible to recover all the lap time we have lost today in Sunday’s session, but we are in good shape’’, Barrichello said. ‘‘I think the new weekend format means that qualifying is less important in terms of its effect on the race and so I am still optimistic about our chances of getting a good result.’’

Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella has taken provisional pole position in his 142nd Grand Prix, with a timing of 1m 33.171 sec. Under the new rules for the 2005 season, a second qualifying session will be conducted tomorrow morning, with aggregated times determining the order on the starting grid.

Taking provisional second spot today was Italy’s Jarno Trulli in a Toyota with a time of 1m 35.270 sec, while Austrkalian Mark Webber in a Williams was the beneficiary of a dry spell to turn in a time of 1m 36.717 sec.

Former Jaguar driver Webber, widely hailed as the man to take his new team, Williams, to fresh heights, complained that the local media had exaggerated his prospects. He also snapped back when a reporter asked him if he was concerned about the pace of his teammate, Nick Heidfeld.

‘‘Yes, I’m very slow and I’m struggling and Nick is very fast,’’ said Webber. ‘‘The race is when it counts, not today. We have got work to do, but so does everyone.’’

But in the ultimate irony of the past 24 hours, Michael Schumacher was beaten for pace by both Minardis. It was a result that would have brought great pleasure to Paul Stoddart, the owner of the battling Minardi team and the man who has fought a relentless battle against the Ferrari squad.