SAO PAULO, Brazil, April 5: Jaguar driver Mark Webber was surprisingly quickest in the first qualifying session for the Brazilian Grand Prix Friday.

Webber, second last out on track, benefited from drying conditions to take top spot in the session from Brazilian Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello, who had been set to take provisional pole.

The Australian set the pace with a lap time of one min 23.111sec to go more than one-tenth of a second quicker than Barrichello.

Barrichello finished ahead of McLaren drivers Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard, who had taken to the track first.

World champion Michael Schumacher, who went out sixth on track by which time the rain had returned briefly, spun on his out-lap and then ended the session fifth quickest.

The five time title holder said: “The rain meant that track conditions were difficult, but not acceptable, although it was aquaplaning which caused me to spin.”

Webber meanwhile was thrilled with his effort.

The qualifying session had been in doubt after drivers expressed safety concerns after running in the rain during the earlier practice session.

A number of drivers signed a petition against running in similar conditions with both tyre suppliers - Bridgestone and Michelin - having opted to use intermediate tyres as their wet weather selection. But improvements in conditions prior to the start of the qualifying hour rendered the petition meaningless.

Coulthard said after his run: “In the end the conditions were okay for running. In the morning session there was a lot of standing water and lots of drivers going off.

Coulthard added that the ‘united front’ shown by the drivers was merely to show their feelings on the conditions to race director Charlie Whiting. He added: “It was really about safety issues. The drivers wanted to express concerns and show a united front about qualifying in the wet but that wasn’t the case. It was just a united view to take to Charlie.

Later Jacques Villeneuve branded his rivals “a bunch of sissies” on Friday after they attempted to force the cancellation of the opening qualifying session for Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Several of the drivers drew up a petition against competing in the torrential rain at Interlagos but Canadian Villeneuve criticised them for “insulting” the fans who had turned up to watch.—AFP