David Coulthard seized a last-gasp pole position for the San Marino Grand Prix today and dashed Michael
Schumacher's hopes of equalling a Formula One record on Ferrari's home ground.
Coulthard’steam mate Mika Hakkinen, on pole at Imola for the past two years, made it an all-McLaren front row with the second fastest time asworld champion Schumacher was relegated surprisingly to the second row.
Schumacher, with the local crowd cheering him on, had earlier looked like claiming his eighth successive pole, equalling the record run set by thelate Brazilian champion Ayrton Senna in 1988-89.
But Coulthard, who ended Schumacher's run of six successive victories at the last race in Brazil, powered his McLaren around the circuit in oneminute and 23.054 seconds in the closing seconds of the one-hour session.
Schumacher was also pipped at the last by his younger brother Ralf, in a Williams, who was third fastest and lines up alongside him on the secondrow for Sunday's race.
Jarno Trulli took fifth for Jordan while Frentzen could only manage ninth.Eddie Irvine struggled with his Jaguar and lies in thirteenth.
Coulthard's time was more than a second inside Hakkinen's 2000 pole time of 1:24.714.
It was also well inside the race lap record of 1:25.531 set byFrentzen in a Williams in 1997.
Reuters