Full Throttle

Juan Pablo Montoya stormed to pole position at the Italian Grand Prix as McLaren left their rivals trailing. Montoya’s lap of one minute 21.054 seconds was 0.176secs slower than team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who starts 11th after an engine-change penalty.

Raikkonen’s title rival Fernando Alonso is in a strong position to extend his lead after grabbing second place. Jenson Button is third on the grid ahead of BAR-Honda team-mate Takuma Sato and Toyota’s Jarno Trulli. Michael Schumacher could qualify only seventh for Ferrari’s home race, just ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

Giancarlo Fisichella’s Renault and the Toyota of Ralf Schumacher completed the top 10, with David Coulthard 11th for Red Bull.

Raikkonen was demoted following an engine failure in his McLaren at the end of final practice on Saturday morning - the third time in six races he has suffered a similar penalty. He will now be trying to limit the damage to his hopes in the championship, in which he is 24 points behind Alonso. But McLaren boss Ron Dennis said he was optimistic Raikkonen could still beat Alonso and even win the race, claiming his cars were “a second a lap faster than anyone else”.

Raikkonen said: “It’s going to be difficult to try to win. That will all depend on what happens at the front of the race. “It’s not the perfect thing, but I cannot change it any more, so I will make the best of it. I know I’ll sleep as good as ever. That won’t change. “If I can get through the first corner then I will be OK and after that I will push as hard and as fast as I can.”

Montoya added: “We are clearly quicker than everybody else and if I can get a good run to the first corner then it should be good enough to win. “It’s obvious I want to try and help the team, and Kimi, but I doubt if I can help Kimi. I’m sure he will move up, so we will see.”

Alonso said he was pleased to have been able to benefit from the lastest in a long line of McLaren failures. He said second place was “the maximum” he could do, adding: “We are just trying to be as perfect as we can. “We are also taking the opportunities McLaren are giving us. Kimi’s problem was a bit of a surprise, but it’s helped me again.”

Oh… and the image? It’s why we LOVE Monza!

Formula One, Sports, Auto Racing

1 Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes MP4-20 M 1:20.878
2 Montoya McLaren Mercedes MP4-20 M 1:21.054 0.176
3 Alonso Renault Renault R25 M 1:21.319 0.441
4 Button BAR Honda BAR007 M 1:21.369 0.491
5 Sato BAR Honda BAR007 M 1:21.477 0.599
6 Trulli Toyota Toyota TF105 M 1:21.640 0.762
7 M Schumacher Ferrari Ferrari F2005 B 1:21.721 0.843
8 Barrichello Ferrari Ferrari F2005 B 1:21.962 1.084
9 Fisichella Renault Renault R25 M 1:22.068 1.190
10 R Schumacher Toyota Toyota TF105 M 1:22.266 1.388
11 Coulthard Red Bull Cosworth RB1 M 1:22.304 1.426
12 Villeneuve Sauber Petronas C24 M 1:22.356 1.478
13 Klien Red Bull Cosworth RB1 M 1:22.532 1.654
14 Webber Williams BMW FW27 M 1:22.560 1.682
15 Massa Sauber Petronas C24 M 1:23.060 2.182
16 Pizzonia Williams BMW FW27 M 1:23.291 2.413
17 Monteiro Jordan Toyota EJ15B B 1:24.666 3.788
18 Doornbos Minardi Cosworth PS05 B 1:24.904 4.026
19 Karthikeyan Jordan Toyota EJ15 B 1:25.859 4.981
20 Albers Minardi Cosworth PS05 B 1:26.964 6.086