One of the more outlandish rumours circulating in the Shanghai paddock suggests that world champion Michael Schumacher deliberately pitched his Ferrari into a 🧜150mph qualifying spin so that he could demonstrate both his and the F2004's prowess by fighting back from the rear of the grid.

The German will start stone last on a grid re-jigged by various engine changes and qualifying 'no-shows' - having not set a time and then had the V10 in his Ferrari switched for a fresh unit - but surely even he would not have knowingly 'fixed' the result of the timed session. Even at Silverstone, the spins and go-slows were carried out in pre-qualifying, as, with ra🐻in on the horizon, teams sought to run⛦ as early as possible in qualifying proper.

Schumacher's engine change relegated him from 17th to 20th on the grid, as Ferrari was the last team to notify officials of their decision🐟. Minardi has changed the V10 in the back of one of its car💝s, but opted to do so before the world champions, elevating Zsolt Baumgartner and Gianmaria Bruni up the order, along with BAR's Takuma Sato, who swapped motors after a Friday failure. Bruni will now start 17th, ahead of the Japanese driver, Baumgartner and Schumacher.

The world champion may 🐟also opt to start from the pit𒀰-lane, as tactical genius Ross Brawn weighs up his options.

"It will be one or thওe other," Brawn told reporters after qualifying in Shanghai, "We need to have a look at the strategies and ju꧅st see what's best."