For the first time in Formula One history, qualifying had to take place on race day as "Ma-on", the super typhoon which threatened to disrupt the race, had forced the track to be closed on Saturday. Although in the end Suzuka escaped the typhoon, it was inevitable that qualifying would be something special.

The track was wet but drying and, having driven on a soaked circuit on Friday, the final qualifying session was the first time the drivers could run with dry-weather tyres. Having just the warm-up lap to get used to the car's handling, extracting the maximum from the package was always going to be a challenge, and the session would have to be somewhat of a lottery.

The Grid

1. Michael Schumacher
First Qualifying: 1:38.397; Second Qualifying: 1:33.542

Whether it was Saturday or Sunday, wet or dry, Schumacher looked unstoppable from the very first moment he took to the track. The Ferrari driver, aided by the superior Bridgestone rubber, led the Friday in the wet on Friday, and, despite Michelin's superiority on a very cold track in the first qualifying session, the German was in a class of his own. Of course, Schumacher completed both his flying laps at the right moment. Thanks to his poor result in China, Schumacher benefitted from a somewhat dry track in pre-qualifying, and having finished as second fastest was the penultimate man to go out in the grid-deciding session.

2. Ralf Schumacher
First Qualifying: 1:38.864; Second Qualifying: 1:34.032

Like in China two weeks earlier, Ralf was again the quickest of the Williams drivers for the most part of the weekend. The German driver, like his brother, also took advantage of his retirement in China to be one of the last drivers to go out on track when the track had a lot less water. That proved vital to his performance, the Williams driver completing a flawless lap that only his brother Michael would be able to beat.

3. Mark Webber
First Qualifying: 1:39.170; Second Qualifying: 1:34.571

Although he was forced to ditch plans to use the revised, lightweight, R5 chassis for the first time due to the lack of running on Friday, Webber made good use of the rain to show his talent in his usual car. The Australian's quick pre-qualifying lap put him in a very strong position for the second session, and he took advantage of it, completing an error-free lap to achieve his best qualifying position since the Malaysian Grand Prix back in March.

4. Takuma Sato
First Qualifying: 1:40.135; Second Qualifying: 1:34.897

As expected, Sato gave it all to impress his home crowd and was very much on the limit in both qualifying sessions. Aided by the latest spec of the Honda engine, the Japanese driver was on the pace but could have benefitted from running later after finishing as sixth quickest in pre-qualifying. In any case, he pushed hard in the final session and, despite getting his car completely sideways at the chicane, Sato's lap was good enough to put him in a strong position to fight for the podium later on.

5. Jenson Button
First Qualifying: 1:41.423; Second Qualifying: 1:35.157

Despite not enjoying a very promising Friday practice, Button raised his game when it mattered and was up there in qualifying. His second place in China meant he had to go out too early in pre-qualifying, and despite running 10th in the final session, the Briton put on a solid performance. Like his teammate Sato, Button had a big moment at the chicane, but he too escaped the scare and secured a good place on the grid, especially considering he had opted for a two-stop strategy while Sato went for a three-stopper.

6. Jarno Trulli
First Qualifying: 1:37.716; Second Qualifying: 1:35.213

On his Grand Prix debut with Toyota, Trulli's highlight of the weekend was topping the times in pre-qualifying, much to the delight of the Japanese team's bosses. The Italian obviously benefitted from running in last place in the opening session, but that didn't prove as effective in the grid-deciding one. Still, sixth place on his first race with the team was a good effort, although Trulli was predicting he would struggle in race trim, as it has usually been the case with the Toyotas this season. He was right.

7. Giancarlo Fisichella
First Qualifying: 1:40.151; Second Qualifying: 1:36.136

In the very wet conditions of Friday, Fisichella was extremely competitive with his package, taking full advantage of Bridgestone's superiority. He finished second in both sessions, only behind Michael Schumacher, and things were looking promising. However, there was not enough water on track on Sunday and Fisichella was unable to repeat the feat. Still, he continued with his good run of form and placed himself in a strong position to fight for the points once more.

8. David Coulthard
First Qualifying: 1:41.126; Second Qualifying: 1:36.156

For a change, Coulthard seemed to feel more comfortable than his teammate Raikkonen for most of the weekend and that started to show in pre-qualifying, although it has to be said that the Scot ran later and so on a much drier circuit, with the consequent benefits. His performance, however, was not enough to make McLaren look strong enough to fight at the top as the Woking-based squad were unable to repeat their good showing in China two weeks earlier.

9. Jacques Villeneuve
First Qualifying: 1:41.857; Second Qualifying: 1:36.274

Running in the wet for the first time at Suzuka did not help Villeneuve's acclimatising to the requirements of the current cars. The Canadian, who was unable to return to Europe to test after the Chinese GP due to problems with his visa, had a tough weekend, although at least he managed to qualify in front of his teammate thanks to running later in both sessions. On his flying lap, Villeneuve made a mistake at the chicane that perhaps cost him a couple of positions.

10. Olivier Panis
First Qualifying: 1:40.029; Second Qualifying: 1:36.420

In his final Formula One Grand Prix, the Frenchman was hoping for a strong weekend, and more so considering it was also Toyota's home race. On Friday he decided to do just two installation laps, so he faced his first qualifying session not having completed a single quick lap. With that in mind, his performance was pretty strong, even if he didn't manage to match Trulli's pace.

11. Fernando Alonso
First Qualifying: 1:34.425; Second Qualifying: 1:36.663

The Spaniard was one of several drivers who were handicapped by the conditions. Having to run in fourth place in the opening session left Alonso close to the bottom of the times and so he went out in final qualifying when the track was still very damp. Although he had a pretty much clean lap, it was still too early for Michelin's dry-weather tyres to work at their best and the Renault driver struggled.

12. Kimi Raikkonen
First Qualifying: 1:41.517; Second Qualifying: 1:36.820

After several races being McLaren's quickest man, Raikkonen had a surprisingly subdued weekend at Suzuka, with Coulthard getting the best of him in both qualifying sessions. His third place in China did not help the Finn, who had to go out very early in the first session. Raikkonen, running more fuel than most of his rivals as he had opted for a two-stop strategy, completed a clean lap but his pace was unimpressive and 12th position was surely not what he was expecting.

13. Juan Pablo Montoya
First Qualifying: 1:44.370; Second Qualifying: 1:37.653

All of Montoya's chances to do well in qualifying were gone after the Colombian struggled in the pre-qualifying session, in which he finished 18th after a couple of big moments. Being the third man on track, just behind the Minardis, in the grid-deciding session was always going to be a big handicap for the Colombian. The track was very damp when Montoya, running with dry-weather tyres, completed his flying lap. He came close to losing his car, and although he was able to get it back, his lap was far from flawless.

14. Christian Klien
First Qualifying: 1:42.054; Second Qualifying: 1:38.258

While Webber proved his worth in the wet, Klien had another subdued weekend during which he was unable to move out of his Australian teammate's shadow. The Austrian, driving at Suzuka for the first time, could only complete nine laps ahead of qualifying, which obviously proved to be a handicap, especially for the rookies. Klien had the benefit of being one of the last men to go out on track in pre-qualifying, but even so he finished over three seconds behind Webber. In the final session, he was even further behind the Australian.

15. Rubens Barrichello
First Qualifying: 1:41.001; Second Qualifying: 1:38.637

His victory in China had significant side effects for Barrichello, who was the first man to go out on Sunday morning and subsequently was heavily penalised, the track being very wet at the moment the Brazilian had to complete his lap. The Ferrari driver opted for dry-weather tyres for his final qualifying lap, but the track was still not dry enough for the Bridgestones to work perfectly. Still, if not for an error at the end of his lap, he could have finished higher, but as it was, Barrichello missed the chicane and lost a lot of time.

16. Nick Heidfeld
First Qualifying: 1:42.434; Second Qualifying: 1:41.953

Mostly thanks to the superiority of the Bridgestone tyres, Friday saw both Heidfeld and teammate Glock shining at the very wet Suzuka. Sunday's qualifying, however, was a different story, with the track not being wet enough for the Japanese rubber to be superior and not dry enough for dry-weather tyres. Heidfeld completed a good, solid lap, but was not good enough to escape his usual place at the bottom of the field. The German at least managed to outpace his teammate by over 1.5 seconds.

17. Timo Glock
First Qualifying: 1:43.682; Second Qualifying: 1:43.533

Despite his lack of running in the wet, and despite being new to the Suzuka circuit, the young German had a promising start to his weekend on Friday, finishing as sixth quickest in the soaked Japanese track. Glock felt comfortable with the Jordan in the wet, but in the damp conditions of Sunday morning, the situation changed and the German, on intermediates, was unable to repeat the feat.

18. Gianmaria Bruni
First Qualifying: 1:45.415; Second Qualifying: 1:48.069

If driving the Minardi was not hard enough, Bruni also had to cope with the challenge of running at a circuit new to him. Due to Friday's washout, the Italian driver faced qualifying having completed a total of 11 laps in the wet and, being one of the first drivers out, had to drive on a somewhat wet track. With all that in mind, it was hardly surprising to see him finishing over 14 seconds off the pace.

19. Felipe Massa
First Qualifying: 1:41.707; Second Qualifying: No time

Massa had a troubled weekend as he tried to cope with the tricky conditions, spinning out in both of Friday's practice sessions. As a consequence, he completed just four laps before pre-qualifying and finished well off the pace with his Sauber. In the final session, another mistake saw him going off the track, thus failing to set a time. All in all, a poor showing from the young Brazilian.

20. Zsolt Baumgartner
First Qualifying: No time; Second Qualifying: No time

Like his teammate Bruni, Baumgartner suffered from the lack of running on Friday and was always going to struggle badly: fifteen laps was all he could complete ahead of qualifying. Unlike Bruni, however, the Hungarian was unable to keep his car on track during his pre-qualifying lap, ending up in the gravel at turn nine. With just a few minutes before his final run, Minardi decided not to send him out.

The Race

With just some three hours separating the end of qualifying from the race the teams faced an unusual challenge, which became bigger once it was obvious that the track would be completely dry by the time the start took place. Nonetheless, there were no surprises.

Schumacher kept the lead when the red lights went off, the German easily keeping his brother Ralf at bay at the first corner. While the Schumachers had good starts, Webber struggled to move off the line and by the end of the main straight the Jaguar driver had dropped to sixth position behind Button, Sato, and Trulli. Coulthard and a fast-starting Villeneuve completed the top eight, with Fisichella and Alonso following closely.

The first lap was rather uneventful for a change, and Schumacher Senior crossed the finish line around one second ahead of his younger brother. The order was still the same further back, with only Panis gaining a place as he jumped ahead of Barrichello to move into 13th. Fisichella also gained a position when he overtook Villeneuve for eighth place on lap three.

It didn't take long before Michael opened a significant gap to Ralf, the Ferrari driver already nearly three seconds in front by the end of lap five. Button and Sato, meanwhile, were unable to keep up with the German duo and had already fell some 10 seconds behind, although the Briton at least was running with more fuel onboard due to his two-stop strategy.

Trulli was still running in fifth place with the Toyota, the Italian over 12 seconds off the lead and followed closely by Webber, Coulthard, and Fisichella, although the Australian driver was beginning to suffer a bizarre problem as his cockpit began to heat up.

Villeneuve led a group of cars which looked clearly faster than him, with Alonso right behind the Canadian. Raikkonen, Montoya, and Barrichello followed right behind the Spaniard, who finally moved in front of Villeneuve on lap seven, immediately beginning to lap a lot faster.

Also on lap seven, Sato, running a lighter car, overtook Button for third place, while further behind Montoya passed Raikkonen for 11th as the first round of pitstops loomed. Ralf was the first of the top runners to pit, on lap nine, while Webber, who had lost a place to Coulthard, headed for the pitlane on lap 11. The Jaguar driver, however, continued with his problems and dropped out of contention before retiring.

"It was just really strange, bloody frustrating to have a driver retirement after all the effort that goes in," said Webber. "After six or seven laps the right hand side of the seat was incredibly hot. I thought it would stay there...but after the first stop it was just getting hotter and hotter and the seat belt buckle on the right hand side was just like really, really hot water on my skin."

Schumacher was among the last of the three-stoppers to make his first pitstop, when he was over 20 seconds clear of Button. The BAR driver stopped just two laps after Schumacher, returning to the track behind Sato. Coulthard, Alonso, Montoya, and Barrichello followed.

By the end of lap 20, Michael led Ralf by 20 seconds, with Sato half a minute behind the Ferrari driver. Button, Coulthard, and Alonso were running in no man's land, while Trulli, in sixth, was coming under pressure from Montoya and Barrichello.

When the Williams driver tried to pass Trulli on lap 22, the Colombian overshot the chicane and not only was unable to overtake Trulli, but also lost a place to Barrichello, who also passed the Toyota driver seconds later. Montoya, meanwhile, would be relegated to ninth place after Fisichella also managed to jump in front at the end of the main straight.

The second round of pitstops was again triggered by Ralf, who pitted on lap 24. The rest of those on three stops followed over the next four laps, while the two-stoppers began to pit on lap 32. Once everybody had stopped, Michael led Ralf by over 28 seconds, with Sato some 45 behind, and Button, who had already made his final pitstop, some three seconds adrift of his teammate.

Coulthard was still fifth, but nearly a minute off the lead, with Barrichello closing the gap to the Scot as he continued charging towards the front. Alonso, on a two-stopper, and Montoya completed the top eight. Barrichello got right behind Coulthard in the space of a couple of laps, and the Ferrari driver tried to overtake the McLaren on lap 38.

The move, however, was far from successful. Barrichello dived down the inside at the chicane, but he seemed to go too fast and Coulthard didn't seem to notice he was there, the Scot trying to make the corner. The cars touched and both men were forced to retire.

"Rubens took a dive down the inside from a long way back and I think it was a little optimistic," said Coulthard afterwards. "But when you consider what I did to Ralf in China you have to say that's a payback because that was optimistic too."

On the following lap, both Michael and Ralf came into the pits for the final time, with the Ferrari driver returning clearly in the lead while the Williams man rejoined in third behind Sato. The BAR driver, however, pitted next and dropped some 13 seconds behind Button, who ended the Japanese driver's dream of a podium.

Alonso had benefitted from the incident between Coulthard and Barrichello to move to a lonely fifth place, with Raikkonen in sixth, and Montoya and Fisichella completing the top eight after everybody had made their final stops. The order remained unchanged during the rest of the race, with only Massa providing some entertainment as he overtook Villeneuve for ninth place with just four laps remaining.

So Schumacher cruised home for his 13th win of the season, which tasted very sweet following his nightmare Chinese Grand Prix. The victory made him the only man in Formula One history to take pole and win the race on the same day, another milestone in the German's career and one that is likely to be unique for quite some time.

Like most of Schumacher's records, anyway.

Race Results

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine                Time        
 1.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  1h24:26.985
 2.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)  +    14.098
 3.  Button        BAR-Honda        (M)  +    19.662
 4.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)  +    31.781
 5.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  +    37.767
 6.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  +    39.362
 7.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)  +    55.347
 8.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)  +    56.276
 9.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)  +  1:29.624
10.  Villeneuve    Renault          (M)  +     1 lap
11.  Trulli        Toyota           (M)  +     1 lap
12.  Klien         Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  +     1 lap
13.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)  +     1 lap
14.  Panis         Toyota           (M)  +    2 laps
15.  Glock         Jordan-Ford      (B)  +    2 laps
16.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)  +    3 laps

Fastest Lap: Barrichello , 1:32.730

Not Classified/Retirements:

Driver        Team                  On Lap
Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)    42
Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)    39
Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)    39
Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)    21


World Championship Standing, Round 17:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  M.Schumacher 146        1.  Ferrari          254
 2.  Barrichello  108        2.  BAR-Honda        116
 3.  Button        85        3.  Renault          100
 4.  Alonso        54        4.  Williams-BMW      74
 5.  Montoya       48        5.  McLaren-Mercedes  61
 6.  Trulli        46        6.  Sauber-Petronas   33
 7.  Raikkonen     37        7.  Jaguar-Cosworth   10
 8.  Sato          31        8.  Toyota             9
 9.  Coulthard     24        9.  Jordan-Ford        5
10.  Fisichella    22       10.  Minardi-Cosworth   1
11.  R.Schumacher  20       
12.  Massa         11       
13.  Webber         7       
14.  Pizzonia       6       
15.  Panis          6       
16.  Klien          3       
17.  da Matta       3       
18.  Heidfeld       3       
19.  Glock          2       
20.  Baumgartner    1     
      

Fastest Race Laps

Pos  Driver        Team                  Lap  Time              
 1.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)  30   1:32.730
 2.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  41   1:32.796 + 0.066
 3.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)  23   1:33.467 + 0.737
 4.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)  40   1:33.614 + 0.884
 5.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)  28   1:33.742 + 1.012
 6.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)  30   1:33.779 + 1.049
 7.  Button        BAR-Honda        (M)  33   1:33.819 + 1.089
 8.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)  44   1:33.850 + 1.120
 9.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  14   1:33.917 + 1.187
10.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  35   1:33.920 + 1.190
11.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  13   1:34.229 + 1.499
12.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  29   1:34.279 + 1.549
13.  Panis         Toyota           (M)  11   1:34.438 + 1.708
14.  Trulli        Toyota           (M)  52   1:34.626 + 1.896
15.  Klien         Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  32   1:35.261 + 2.531
16.  Villeneuve    Renault          (M)  28   1:35.290 + 2.560
17.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)  25   1:35.524 + 2.794
18.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)  14   1:36.667 + 3.937
19.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)  27   1:39.352 + 6.622
20.  Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)  26   1:39.434 + 6.704

Pitstop Times

Pos  Driver        Team                  Time      Lap
 1.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)   20.816   28
 2.  Trulli        Toyota           (M)   21.018   25
 3.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)   21.093   11
 4.  Panis         Toyota           (M)   21.173    9
 5.  Trulli        Toyota           (M)   21.394   12
 6.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)   21.470   38
 7.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)   21.475   28
 8.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)   21.496   41
 9.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)   21.546   24
10.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)   21.553   39
11.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)   21.594   41
12.  Panis         Toyota           (M)   21.610   20
13.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)   21.649   13
14.  Panis         Toyota           (M)   21.727   35
15.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)   21.730   12
16.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)   21.730   26
17.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)   21.782   26
18.  Trulli        Toyota           (M)   21.825   38
19.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)   21.865   12
20.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)   21.930   11
21.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)   21.956   26
22.  Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)   22.084   40
23.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)   22.176    9
24.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)   22.180   38
25.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)   22.233   39
26.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)   22.243   27
27.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)   22.248   41
28.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)   22.266   12
29.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)   22.275   15
30.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)   22.311   12
31.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)   22.758   38
32.  Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)   22.850   15
33.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)   22.915   36
34.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)   23.004   26
35.  Villeneuve    Renault          (M)   23.008   34
36.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)   23.055   11
37.  Alonso        Renault          (M)   23.299   14
38.  Button        BAR-Honda        (M)   23.374   35
39.  Button        BAR-Honda        (M)   23.595   15
40.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)   23.733   11
41.  Alonso        Renault          (M)   23.737   33
42.  Villeneuve    Renault          (M)   23.891   15
43.  Klien         Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)   23.909   16
44.  Klien         Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)   23.989   33
45.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)   24.192   32
46.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)   24.210   25
47.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)   24.489   11
48.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)   25.033   14
49.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)   26.490   24
50.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)   27.588   39
51.  Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)   28.295   27
52.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)   38.215   18