a 1:15.520; one second quicker than Trulli. Michael Schumacher followed with the third-fastest time. The two Williams drivers of Montoya and Ralf Schumacher were fourth and sixth; they were separated by Häkkinen. Barrichello was seventh-quickest and spun off when his engine lost power because of an oil pressure loss. Frentzen, Heidfeld and Irvine followed in the top ten. It became hotter during the Saturday free practice sessions. Häkkinen set the pace in the third practice session, with a time of 1:14.503 with Coulthard second-quickest. Michael Schumacher and Barrichello were third- and fifth-fastest, separated by Ralf Schumacher. Montoya, Trulli, Frentzen, Heidfeld and Kimi Räikkönen rounded out the top ten. In the final practice session, Montoya was quickest with a lap of 1:13.963; Ralf Schumacher finished with the fourth-fastest time. They were split by the two McLarens, Häkkinen in second and Coulthard in third. Michael Schumacher finished fifth-fastest, ahead of Frentzen. Barrichello, Räikkönen, Panis and Heidfeld completed the top ten ahead of qualifying. Qualifying Saturday's afternoon qualifying session lasted for an hour. Each driver was limited to twelve laps, with the grid order decided by the drivers' fastest laps. During this session, the 107% rule was in effect, which necessitated each driver set a time within 107% of the quickest lap to qualify for the race. The session was held in dry and sunny weather conditions. The air temperature ranged between and the track temperature was between . The hot conditions prevented the front-running teams from improving their lap times towards the end of the session. Michael Schumacher clinched his seventh consecutive pole position, his third of the season and his first at the Interlagos circuit, with a time of 1:13.780. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Ralf Schumacher who set a qualifying time 0.310 seconds slower, equalling his team's best qualifying position since the 1998 Italian Grand Prix. The two became the first siblings to share the front row of the grid in a Formula One World Championship event. After the session had ended, Ralf Schumacher's car was investigated by the stewards for an fuel irregularity and was allowed to race when the fuel was declared legal. Häkkinen and Coulthard set the third- and fifth-fastest times for McLaren, respectively, both drivers agreed that their cars had a reduced tendency to understeer. Montoya separated the McLaren drivers in the second Williams, who complained that his car was