German rookie Nico Hulkenberg, whose future has been in serious doubt, delivered a shock for the Formula One world title contenders yesterday when he grabbed pole position for Williams at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Interlagos.

Hulkenberg, 23, managed by Willi Weber, who guided compatriot Michael Schumacher to a record seven world titles, took command in the ‘top ten shoot-out’ when dry conditions prevailed after a spell of rain.

He moved to dry slick tyres and was swiftly clocking the best laps as he cut his time by seconds to seize pole with a best lap of one minute and 14.470 seconds.

This left him more than a second clear of the rest of the field and on pole, for the first time, in his first season, ahead of compatriot and title contender Sebastian Vettel, who was second, ahead of his Red Bull team-mate and rival Mark Webber.

Briton Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, the 2008 champion, was fourth ahead of current leader and two-time champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and local hero Brazilian Rubens Barrichello in the second Williams.

Schumacher, in his Mercedes, was seventh ahead of his former team-mate Brazilian Felipe Massa of Ferrari, Russian Vitaly Petrov and his Renault partner Robert Kubica.

It was a remarkable effort by Hulkenberg, who may lose his seat owing to funding problems, and the Williams team, whose technical director Patrick Head made all the right decisions from the pit wall as the conditions changed.

“It is amazing,” said the young driver known as ‘The Hulk’ who won the GP2 championship last season after previously lifting the titles in A1GP and the F3 Euroseries.

“I can’t believe it. A big thank you to the team; to go on to slicks was the right decision. I just squeezed everything I could out of the car and tried to stick to all the dry parts of the track.”

The Williams team have not won a Grand Prix since 2004 when Juan-Pablo Montoya triumphed in Brazil.

Hulkenberg was showered in congratulations from the leading championship contenders who are packed behind him on the grid for today’s showdown at Interlagos.

Vettel said: “It is so easy to make a mistake in these conditions so I am very happy for Nico. He did a great job.”

Alonso said: “In qualifying conditions like this you can never make any predictions or expectations, we were struggling with intermediates and with dry tyres it was a difficult circuit to play.

“Fifth is not pole, but we saved a tricky session. The championship is not really in my mind. You can get some strange results but we are concentrating on increasing the gap and if we give away points, making sure it is not too many.”

Hamilton said: “It’s better than nothing... I have started fourth a few times before here in Brazil and it is not the greatest place to start from, but it could have been a lot worse.”

His McLaren team-mate Briton Jenson Button flopped and has to start from 11th place.

The grid

1. Hulkenberg (Williams) - 1:14.470
2. Vettel (Red Bull) - 1:15.519
3. Webber (Red Bull) - 1:15.637
4. Hamilton (McLaren) - 1:15.747
5. Alonso (Ferrari) - 1:15.989
6. Barrichello (Williams) - 1:16.203
7. Kubica (Renault) - 1:16.552
8. Schumacher (Mercedes) - 1:16.925
9. Massa (Ferrari) - 1:17.101
10. Petrov (Renault) - 1:17.656

Eliminated in Q2
11. Button (McLaren)
12. Kobayashi (Sauber)
13. Rosberg (Mercedes)
14. Alguersuari (Toro Rosso)
15. Buemi (Toro Rosso)
16. Heidfeld (Sauber)
17. Liuzzi (Force India)

Eliminated in Q3
18. Sutil (Force India)
19. Glock (Virgin)
20. Trulli (Lotus)
21. Kovalainen (Lotus)
22. Di Grassi (Virgin)
23. Klien (Hispania)
24. Senna (Hispania)

Standings

Drivers
1. Alonso - 231 points
2. Webber - 220
3. Hamilton - 210
4. Vettel - 206
5. Button - 189
6. Massa - 143
7. Kubica - 124
8. Rosberg - 122
9. Schumacher - 66
10. Barrichello - 47
11. Sutil - 47
12. Kobayashi - 31
13. Liuzzi - 21
14. Petrov - 19
15. Hülkenberg - 18
16. Buemi - 8
17. De la Rosa - 6
18. Heidfeld - 6
19. Alguersuari - 3

Constructors
1. Red Bull - 426 points
2. McLaren - 399
3. Ferrari - 374
4. Mercedes GP - 188
5. Renault - 143
6. Force India - 68
7. Williams - 65
8. Sauber - 43
9. Toro Rosso - 11

Next race: Abu Dhabi – Nov. 14.