Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella secured provisional pole position Saturday as heavy rain ruined Michael Schumacher's run in the first round of Formula One's new qualifying format for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.
Fisichella set the fastest time of 1 minute, 33.171 seconds in the lap before a sudden downpour over Albert Park made conditions slippery for the last eight drivers, including Ferrari's defending Australian GP and series champion Schumacher, and the McLarens of Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya.
A second qualifying session will be held Sunday morning, with Fisichella expected to hold the lead after times from both sessions are combined to determine grid positions.
"I'm really happy about my position. I've been very lucky, I went out in the right position and as soon as I finished my fast lap, it started raining," said Fisichella. "I have a big gap with some of my competitors."
Toyota's Jarno Trulli was 2.1 seconds behind Fisichella, making it Italians in first and second places. Next were Williams' Australian driver Mark Webber and former world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who spun his Sauber before recovering to clock 1:36.984.
Red Bull pair Christian Klien and David Coulthard were fifth and sixth, followed by Nick Heidfeld in the other Williams and Jenson Button in the BAR-Honda.
They could be candidates to push Fisichella for pole position. But Schumacher, among the most severely affected by the rain, was about 25 seconds behind the leader and has almost no chance of returning to the front of the grid.
"All I can say about today is that we're unlucky," said Schumacher, who has won the last five drivers' championships. "The weather has so often played in my favor that I can accept it was not the case this time."
The first 11 cars had cleared most of the dampness from a pre-session storm for Fisichella.
"I have a very good feeling," said Fisichella. "I will drive conservative tomorrow [in qualifying] because the most important thing is to win the pole position. It's the best start of my life."
The 32-year-old Italian, who has just one GP title and one pole position in 141 races, wasn't the only driver counting his luck.
Trulli said it was the ideal start for him with Toyota.
"I couldn't have asked for a better start than to be second quickest in what was a very hectic qualifying," he said. "We were lucky with the track conditions, but even though I had a benefit, it was still a quick lap compared to the runners who were out in similar conditions."
In an unusual twist, ninth-placed Narain Karthikeyan -- India's first F1 driver -- his fellow Jordan rookie Tiago Monteiro (13th), and the Minardis of Christijan Albers (15th) and Patrick Friesacher (16th) are ahead of brothers Ralf (17th) and Michael Schumacher (18th).
McLaren cars were consistently fastest in the four practice sessions, but finished 10th and 11th in qualifying. Raikkonen recorded 1:44.997, just ahead of new teammate Montoya.
"That was a real shame for us today," said Montoya. "I think the only guy who is really happy is Fisichella.
"I did my best, but it was too slippery out there and the car went sideways a couple of times."
Ferrari No. 2 Rubens Barrichello, runner-up in the 2004 drivers' standings, was 12th.
Sauber's Felipe Massa was on the track with 25 minutes to go in the session when the heavy rain started.
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