FORMULA ONE: M. Schumacher wins pole again at Indianapolis
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
September 30, 2001INDIANAPOLIS - Michael Schumacher has continued his reign as the Formula One pole master of Indianapolis.
Four-time World Champion Schumacher won the pole position for the SAP United States Grand Prix under brilliant sunshine Saturday on the 2.606-mile road course at Indy with a track-record lap of 1 minute, 11.708 seconds, 130.769 mph in his Ferrari. He also won the pole last year with a lap of 1:14.266.
The 73-lap, 190.238-mile race starts at 1 p.m. (EST) Sunday and will be televised live on ABC.
"We have loads of supporters here in the United States, and with all that has happened we would like to put a smile back on the faces of the people," Schumacher said, referring to the tragedies of Sept. 11. "From our side, hopefully we can do that by winning the race."
Two-time World Champion Mika Hakkinen will start in the front row with Schumacher after a lap of 1:11.945, 130.339 in his West McLaren-Mercedes.
Ralf Schumacher, Michael Schumacher's younger brother, was third at 1:11.986, 130.264 in the Williams-BMW. 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya, a rookie standout this season in F1, will start fourth alongside his teammate after a lap of 1:12.252, 129.785.
Michael Schumacher only needed nine of his allotted 12 laps to claim his 10th pole of the season and the 42nd pole of his illustrious career. He turned his quickest lap, taking the pole from Hakkinen, with nine minutes remaining in the one-hour session and pulled his Ferrari into the garage with three laps left in case a final challenge arose.
It didn't.
Hakkinen, Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Montoya each made unsuccessful attempts to unseat Michael Schumacher in the final three minutes of qualifying. Schumacher climbed out of his car with three minutes left.
"It wasn't that I was confident I wouldn't be beaten, I was confident that I could not improve," Schumacher said of his decision to stand pat. "We've seen that several times this season, when it wasn't worth it because I had achieved the maximum, so it was not worth it to go out again."
While Montoya enjoyed a strong session in his Williams-BMW, fellow Indianapolis 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve suffered through a tough hour. He qualified a season-low 18th in the BAR-Honda with a lap of 1:14.012.
"The car was sick all weekend, and we didn't cure it," 1995 Indy winner Villeneuve said. "It doesn't really have any grip, and we weren't too quick on the straights at the same time. It was just undriveable."
Text provided by Paul Kelly
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