Ahead of today's pre-qualifying session, the air temperature is 26 degrees C, while the track temperature is 35 degrees.

The cars will run in order in which they finished the previous Grand Prix, which means that first out is Kimi Raikkonen, followed by world champion Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Last out will be Giorgio Pantano, who crashed into Zsolt Baumgartner in this morning's second session.

At 13:00 precisely, Raikkonen drives out of the McLaren garage and begins his 'out' lap. At the first split the Finn posts 26s, followed by a 27.6 at the second. At the line the McLaren driver registers 1:20.501, the fastest lap of the weekend, thus far.

Michael Schumacher is greeted by the sounds of thousands of air-horns, the Tifosi greets its hero. At the first split the German posts 26.1, he's down on Raikkonen. At the second split it's 27.5, he's now quicker than the Finn. At the line it's 1:20.528, he's 0.027s slower than Raikkonen.

At the first split, Rubens Barrichello posts 26.2, followed by a 27.5 at the second. Like Schumacher, Barrichello is quickest in this middle sector. At the line it's 1:20.552, which puts him third. Nonetheless, the top three are covered by just 0.051s.

Felipe Massa is next out. At the first split the Brazilian registers 26.1, he's off the pace but it's marginal. At the second split the Sauber driver clocks 27.5, followed by a 1:20.571 at the line. At 226.18 mph, he's also quickest through the speed-trap.

Teammate Giancarlo Fisichella is next out. At the first split the Italian posts 26s, he's only marginally off Raikkonen's time. He's quickest of all in the second sector, the Renault bound driver posting 27.4s. At the line it's 1:20.357, he's quickest by 0.144s.

Spa sensation Christian Klien is next out, he's been looking good this weekend. At the first split the Austrian posts 26.6, he's already half-a-second off the pace. At the second split it's 28.1 as he continues to lose time. At the line it's 1:22.757, which puts him sixth.

David Coulthard is next out, what can he do? At the first split the Scot registers 26s, he's quickest off all. At the second split he's still quickest, registering 27.4. At the line it's 1:20.414, he goes second, having lost vital time in the final sector.

Olivier Panis, who retires from racing at the end of the season, is next out, he was last of the point scorers in Belgium. At the first split it's a disappointing 26.6s, followed by 27.9s at the second. At the line it's 1:22.169, which puts him behind Klien. The Toyota clearly lacks straight-line speed.

Spa pole-man Jarno Trulli is next out in the Renault. He's quickest in the first sector, posting a staggering 25.8s. He loses ground in the second sector, crossing the beam at 27.7. At the line it's 1:21.011, which puts him seventh, albeit 0.654s off Fisichella's pace.

Ricardo Zonta posts a 26.4 at the first split, which at least puts him ahead of Panis. At the second split it's 27.9, around the same as his teammate. At the line it's 1:21.829, which puts him eighth, ahead of Klien and Panis.

Nick Heidfeld has had a troubled weekend, as has teammate Pantano, what can he do now? His Monza nightmare continues, his car clearly has a problem, he continues but very, very slowly.