2. Schumacher (Ferrari) 1:27.284

3. Alonso (Renault) 1:27.321

4. Fisichella (Renault) 1:27.564

5. R Schumacher (Toyota) 1:27.569

6. Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) 1:27.785

7. Button (Honda) 1:27.790

8. Raikkonen (McLaren) 1:27.866

Latest news (all times BST)

1259: Alonso, Button and Fisichella fight it out in a thrilling final minute. Felipe Massa joins the mix and eclipses all of them to take the first pole of his career in 1:27.907.

Ferrari take the front row of the grid at Istanbul Park with Schumacher clinging on to second.

Alonso lines up in third alongside Renault team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella.

1259: Despite a slow first sector, Schumacher pulls a fast lap out of the bag and jumps to the top spot in 1:27.284.

1257: Michael Schumacher comes back into the pits for another new set of tyres after a mistake on Turn One. The Ferrari man got tangled up in traffic and ran wide and he has yet to set a decent lap and remains down in eighth.

1255: The Renault duo are the first to post significant laps. Alonso goes out in 1:28.071 but is quickly eclipsed by team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella.

1251: The Renaults come in for a fresh set of tyres with eight minutes left. The Ferraris are in and out of the pits too and things are beginning to hot up now.

1249: It is all pretty steady at the moment but Michael Schumacher makes sure he has his nose in front with the fastest lap of 1:29.837.

1244: The cars line up for the final session, where pole position will be decided, and they all peel away in formation around the Istanbul track.

The drivers are burning off their fuel first and so are whizzing around at just below race pace. They will then retreat to the pits for a new set of tyres before going for broke on the flying laps.

1238: A frantic final minute brings the session to a close with Christijan Albers (Midland), Nico Rosberg (Williams), Rubens Barrichello (Honda), Jarno Trulli (Toyota), Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren) and Christian Klein (Red Bull) out.

While Barrichello fails to make an impression, he must watch as Honda team-mate Button puts in a fiery late lap to shoot up to second in the standings behind Schumacher.

1234: Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella is on a mission to pull himself up from 16th place and get himself into the top 10. He pours on the pace over the final sector and climbs up to seventh, which should be enough. He later slides to eighth but goes through.

1233: Is Kimi Raikkonen biding his time? Last year's race winner moves up to fourth but still looks fairly sluggish on a track which was expected to suit the McLarens.

1229: Fernando Alonso starts cranking up the pace just a little bit. He delivers a fast first sector to shoot to the top with 1:26.917.

But Michael Schumacher quickly follows him out on track to gazump him in spectacular fashion. The Ferrari goes one second clear of the field with 1:25.850.

1226: Poland's Kubica sets a decent pace as he gets round in 1:27.861.

1223: Off we go again for the second session to determine places 11-16 on the grid. Robert Kubica is first out in his BMW-Sauber.

1215: Midland's Christijan Albers puts his foot down in the dying seconds of the session to leap-frog over David Coulthard and move into 16th spot at the Scot's expense.

Albers is so surprised he has to check over the radio with the team to make sure he is through.

The first session is over and out go both Super Aguri Sakon Yamamoto and Takuma Sato along with Tiego Monteiro (Midland), Vitantonio Liuzzi, Scott Speed ( both Toro Rosso) and Coulthard (Red Bull).

1213: Jenson Button is struggling down in 15th and the Honda garage are frantically working to try to make sure he gets through to the final session. He comes out again with new tyres and adjustments to his front wing.

1208: Michael Schumacher brings his Ferrari out onto the Istanbul track and quickly sets the pace with 1:27.385.

Seconds later, team-mate Felipe Massa ups the pace to overhaul Schumacher by 0.79 seconds. Good news for the Ferrari camp.

1205: World champion Fernando Alonso comes out for his first lap for a bit of a shakedown on old tyres and sets a lap of 1:29.087.

1200: The session is under way in Istanbul with the Midland of Tiego Monteiro first out on the track. He sets the first competitive time of one minute 30.255 seconds.

News comes through that Ralf Schumacher and Christijan Albers will both be docked 10 places for changing their engines.

1158: The sun is breaking out of the clouds around Istanbul Park and most of the drivers are sliding into their cars ready for the first 15-minute session around the 5.4km circuit.

1140: Conditions are predictably hot in Istanbul with the track temperature up to 48C and for those watching in the stands 32C.

1130: With just five races left to go, things are hotting up for title rivals Michael Schumacher and Renault's defending champion Fernando Alonso.

The Ferrari driver was faster than Alonso by a substantial 0.721 seconds in final practice and aims to close the 10-point gap on the Spaniard at the top of the championship standings.

Pole position will be vital but after Jenson Button's heroics in Hungary, where he climbed from 14th on the grid to top spot, anything could happen.