Yet he still lies two points ahead of McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya, who will start one row ahead of him in fifth place on the grid.
"Given our strategy, we look to be in a good position for tomorrow," the seven-time world champion said.
Meanwhile, Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello won't be repeating his pole position start of last year at Shanghai in his final appearance for Ferrari. Barrichello led all the way to win last year's race but will find things much tougher this year after qualifying in eighth place.
"I'll give it my best shot to try and get the best result possible in my last race at the wheel of a Ferrari," said the Brazilian, who joins the Honda team next season.
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