Schumacher looked to have snatched top spot with his own lap late in the session but with no time left on the clock Raikkonen snatched it away from him by the narrowest of margins.

The McLaren driver, who is expected to be unveiled as Schumacher's 2007 replacement at Ferrari, clocked a lap of one minute 21.484 seconds to beat the German by 0.002secs. Schumacher at least had the satisfaction of comfortably beating world championship rival Fernando Alonso, who starts fifth.

The Renault driver, who leads the championship by 12 points, suffered an ill-timed puncture to disrupt his progress in final qualifying.

After being forced to miss the first chicane to avoid Massa's Ferrari, his right rear Michelin tyre exploded just moments later, taking with it a chunk of bodywork. He was able to return to the track and rescue a third-row start but his championship lead is under threat tomorrow, especially with Schumacher's teammate Massa lining up just ahead on fourth.

Nick Heidfeld scored BMWSauber's best-ever qualifying result with third place. Jenson Button shrugged off Honda's engine drama on Friday to take sixth place as he looks to score points for the fourth consecutive race. His teammate Rubens Barrichello starts ninth, just ahead of the other Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella. Red Bull driver David Coulthard starts 14th after missing the cut in second qualifying.

Button's last-gasp flying lap knocked Toyota's Jarno Trulli out and he starts 11th after missing the top-10 shoot-out.

Mark Webber was the biggest casualty after a lacklustre effort for Williams. The Australian was outqualified by teammate Nico Rosberg for the first time since June after posting the 19th fastest time.

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