Juan Pablo MONTOYA: No. The car was really good. We worked a lot this morning to try to make it better and better. We knew this morning that we weren't going to be that competitive because it was very cold. As the temperature rose, we became stronger and stronger. The car was really good. We only adjusted the front wing a little bit through qualifying and that was about it. I think there is a bit more time, there is always, but I was very pleased with that.

Rubens BARRICHELLO: Well, altogether, I don't think it means a lot because there is a long race ahead, I think I had really good car today. I had all the support that I needed. I think Monza is very special with all the tifosi and I'm happy to be having a good time in qualifying and hopefully in the race.

Michael SCHUMACHER: In the important run, certainly, there was a mistake in the first sector; that was the third last run and that killed the overall lap time, but that's the way it is sometimes in qualifying. You can't always do things very well. Obviously I was trying to go for the pole position so the only way to get that time was to push very hard and maybe overdo it.

JPM: I think it's going to be hard. The Ferraris have been really consistently quick throughout the weekend as well so I think it's going to be an interesting race. The basic start is to try to have a clean start and go from there.

JPM: Yeah, I think to beat the Ferraris here is quite special. The last pole (in Belgium) there was a bit of luck with the conditions and this one they were quicker this morning but we put it together and it just paid off.

JPM: It's okay. We struggled a little bit yesterday but we did a lot of changes with the car and we improved step by step. The car does not change much in set-up from qualifying to race.

JPM: There wasn't a need to conserve last time around, it's just that the pit stop was too long and it overheated that's all. So I'll just be pushing like always.

RB: Well today's much better. The team did a good work to help me find the best set-up, from the engine side it was good as well - we just improved the whole way through this morning. I knew it would have been tight because this morning some people were setting times on their first lap, some on their second or third and in qualifying you don't have many laps at your disposal so it was going to be tighter and at the end of the day I'm quite happy.

RB: I have changed a little bit, yes. My first run wasn't on new tyres and I flat-spotted them and had to take new tyres. I didn't know if it was the right solution or not but it became the right one so bad things are not always the bad things, they could be good things.

MS: No, the handling was pretty well. If you see the section times we simply didn't get it together in qualifying. That was the major thing.

MS: A bit more optimistic. It depends a little bit what the conditions are we're going to face but we have improved a lot in engine factor and tyre factor so this is something which makes competitive with the Williams which didn't seem to be the case if you look at Hockenheim.

MS: No. Pretty usual, we discussed this and thought about it and took a decision not to do it.

MS: Well naturally you want to be up front but we didn't get it together and it ends up like this. Third position I don't think is going to be a disaster for the race tomorrow, we'll just have to see what we can do from there.

MS: If you look at the section times you could see we could do it but we didn't get it together in one lap and that's the reason we didn't do it.

MS: Going too fast. Which makes you going slow sometimes.

MS: I've avoided to talk about it too much all weekend and I would like to continue like this if you understand.

Juan Pablo Montoya took the third pole position of his career here at Monza today, his Williams-BMW just pipping Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari. The second row will be shared by both the Schumacher brothers, Michael ahead of Ralf.

Technical: No changes to the cars today.

Sporting: Ralf Schumacher complaining of poor balance, the car yawing from understeer to oversteer. Had three clear runs but his fourth spoiled by yellow flag. Montoya happy with feel of his car although he was not totally confident that pole was within his reach.

Quotes: Montoya: "It's obviously very satisfying to have beaten Ferrari here on their home ground."

Technical: Qualifying engines available for this session.

Sporting: Barrichello did his first run on used tyres, then switched to a new set which handled much better. Had slight detour over gravel trap without damage. Schumacher admitted that he made a slight mistake on the first sector during his third run.

Quotes: Schumacher: "I thought we could take pole, but didn't quite manage it. Yes, it is hard to concentrate."

Technical: No technical changes for today.

Sporting: Trulli absolutely delighted with the car and very impressed with the latest Bridgestone rubber. Alesi described it as a disastrous session with the knock-on effect of a morning transmission problem blighting his qualifying session. Brake balance and handling very difficult to handle.

Quotes: Alesi: "This was the worst qualifying session I could imagine on a circuit which I love."

Technical: No technical changes for today.

Sporting: Hakkinen struggled for balance before crashing heavily into the guard rail on the exit of the second Lesmo right-hander. Coulthard said the balance of his car was quite good, but felt it was difficult to push hard and achieve the ultimate grip.

Quotes: Coulthard: "We've been rather struggling here. We knew from Hockenheim that we're a little bit off the pace at these kind of circuits."

Technical: A lot of work overnight to rectify a repeat of the strange gearbox problem which handicapped the C20s at Spa.

Sporting: Heidfeld happy under the circumstances bearing in mind how much track time had been lost yesterday. Raikkonen blamed Jenson Button from holding him up at the first chicane.

Quotes: Peter Sauber: "I'm very happy with the team's achievement in qualifying both cars in the top ten for the eighth time this season. We made a strong recovery from the problems of Spa and of yesterday."

Technical: No changes to the cars for today.

Sporting: De la Rosa very satisfied with tenth place but Irvine still struggling with a brake balance problem.

Quotes: Niki Lauda: "It's frustrating still to have the same problem we had yesterday on Eddie's car."

Technical: No changes to the car for qualifying.

Sporting: Button extremely happy reporting that the car was very well balanced. Fisichella unhappy after suffering a hydraulic problem in the morning and an engine problem during the afternoon.

Quotes: Fisichella: "All very disappointing after yesterday's efforts."

Technical: No technical changes today.

Sporting: Enge suffered an engine problem this morning and then two more this afternoon, first with his race car and then with the spare AP04. Frentzen judged his qualifying position here more significant than fourth on the grid at Spa.

Quotes: Enge: "My target for tomorrow is to cross the finishing line."

Technical: No changes for today.

Sporting: Both drivers continued to be very disappointed, reporting that mechanical grip was OK but aerodynamic grip definitely lacking. Both drivers did three runs apiece, Villeneuve's newer chassis also being used for development components in 2003.

Quotes: Panis: "A frustrating session, but I think we managed to learn a few things."

Technical: No technical changes for today.

Sporting: Neither driver reported any specific problems, just a normal qualifying session.

Quotes: Bernoldi: "The only consolation is that I have qualified ahead of my team-mate."

Technical: No technical changes for today.

Sporting: Both Yoong and Alonso stopped on their out laps with gearchange actuator failures and had to share the spare car which was equipped with the earlier gearbox.

Quotes: Alonso: "It was a pretty busy session for both of us."

Paul STODDART: We knew this year would be a struggle for us with just six weeks to build a car for Melbourne but our aims were survival and credibility, I think we've done both and got a few top 10 finishes. For next year it's really exciting - we've got new engines, we always said we needed 800 horsepower and that's what we've been promised. Hopefully we can get Minardi off the bottom and if we're going to compete with the world's best that needs investment and our deal with Asiatech's given us that.

PS: Don't believe everything you read in the press. We went to visit the Proton factory last week and had a nice tour and the next day we were getting Proton engines. It was just a social call.

PS: You can ask Flavio that but I think I have.

Flavio Briatore: I don't know yet. We haven't decided. We start the season in March.

FB: No reason basically. We had the option for both driver and we decide to take Jarno for different situation. Giancarlo has done a very good job this year and I believe the two drivers is quite equal drivers but I believe the option we have with Jarno is better and not the option we have with Giancarlo. The only reason was commercial.

FB: Commercial for the team.

Rubens BARRICHELLO: I think I've been through so many times in the past where you think 'is he hurt, is he not' I just took it that what people were telling me on the grid was true - that he was breathing, he was okay. I didn't know if he had broken anything but I had to concentrate on my job basically, this weekend was tough itself, it wasn't anything to do with Luciano. As soon as the race finished for sure I got in my car and went to the hospital but the race was a struggle and when I was running by myself I could be quite quick but it was difficult to follow people through Eau Rouge. The best moment I had in the race was the fight with Alesi. That was the only time I had fun in the race.

RB: I think it was such a big thing in the last race, people saying it's important for me others saying it's not so important for me. I think it was very important for Michael to win his 52^nd Grand Prix at the track he started. He had to do it there and it would have been very difficult if I was second he had let me by. I'm just prepared to race as hard as I can for the last three races, my life couldn't be much better so I'm just prepared to put my foot down and race as hard as I can.

Michael SCHUMACHER: Certainly things are a lot more relaxed in most respects. The big weight we had on our shoulders was anyway taken away last year but still you keep on fighting for the championship as we did this year and the weight increases over the year and as happens then a lot of that falls down. But in Spa I said to Ross Brawn that the pressures, the nervousness are pretty much the same regardless. What we have to look at is what is possible to do for Rubens because it would be a beautiful picture to have the Ferraris 1 and 2.

MS: In some cases - and that has happened very often - you get more free and you do the job more easily. Actually it increases your performance sometimes.

Alex YOONG: I've been trying to get into this very seat for such a long time and it's been a long journey and it's fantastic to be here. There are a lot of people back home supporting me and I'm just going to enjoy it the best I can. Minardi has given me a great opportunity here and I plan to do the best job that I can.

AY: I think it's quite hard to come in halfway through the season, the team is settled and you have to try and fit yourself into the way everything meshes. It's going to be to try to complete the races, get as much experience as possible and do a good job for Minardi. I've got to show them I can do the job and try to qualify and race well, if I can show well against my team mate even better.

FB: In the meeting, basically, business as usual. For the moment we're racing here from tomorrow, we're racing in America in two weeks time, we race in Japan for the last race.

PS: What we will be doing is joining in with everybody else in a moment of respect at 12 o'clock tomorrow and practice will be starting a few minutes earlier and finishing a few minutes earlier so that the teams can do that.

MS: It's pretty difficult to find the right expression for what has happened there and what we feel. I think in all of us it's pretty much the same that what we do feel is naturally the sympathy for all of them and we will support them as much as we can. It is a tough time we are looking forward to and we have to keep improving things as much as we can to prevent this from happening again.

PS: I think one has to obviously respect that there's been a tremendous disaster and it will be some time before anything is back to any kind of normality so I'm quite sure that we're all going to have to be a bit patient with delays around airports and security checks that may seem unnecessary and quite annoying at times but are actually necessary if we're ever going to prevent - or even attempt to prevent - what happened. There's not a lot you can do, aircraft do fly over cities and we've all known for a long time that something like this could happen. We've all feared the day and sadly it has happened. All I can say is that things must go on but there will be a price to pay and that price will be unprecedented levels of security.

Michael SCHUMACHER: Yes, certainly. It's unfortunate for my brother obviously. When you said I made an amazing start, I don't think that's true. I think the guy next to me made an amazing start. I don't know which position he came from but he almost overtook me, so I would say we made an average start and I was able to just defend my position thanks to whatever problem Williams had I didn't have to fight against them, because you saw the first start and they just pulled away and I had no chance. I think even on the start, if Ralf had started from second position he would have just beaten me into the first corner. But we didn't find out and I had a clear race from that moment on and I'm obviously delighted.

MS: I was pushing flat out until the second pit and then I eased off. For whatever reason, I thought I had the chance to open up the gap for an extra pit and we didn't know whether they would do so I just wanted to have that safety margin because I was faster than Giancarlo and David couldn't get by I was able to open up such a lead. I once lost concentration going wide in turn 15, I was just playing with too many buttons at the same time and I ran wide and almost went into the barrier. It didn't need much to do that. When you are on the limit, that's what can happen.

David COULTHARD: No, no. Giancarlo was doing any amazing race, obviously his car was working better than it has done this season and he was quick in all the right areas: out of La Source and out of Stavelot, so it was very difficult to get close, and I knew that my opportunity might come at the pit stop and I thought I lost it when I caught one of the Minardis in Blanchimont, and I said to the team on the radio, "I think it's going to be close." Obviously he came out in front of me. Then thankfully with the backmarker at La Source, it just upset his rhythm a little bit and I got the run through Eau Rouge and I was able to outbrake him. Given the weekend I've had, I'm obviously very happy to have got second place, hoping that Luciano is 100 per cent and able to do the next race, and then we can all feel it's been a positive weekend.

DC: I was saying to Giancarlo that I've never been behind such a messy car. I was having to wipe my vizor every single straight, and I was out of rip-offs very quickly. I understand it just made it across the line, so I think it was spitting all its oil out as the race went on, so it's obviously a lot quicker, but a little bit close to the limit probably.

Giancarlo FISICHELLA: Obviously we had the new aerodynamics package here and the car was much more competitive, easier to drive, easier to get a good set-up, even much more grip normally. Even during the race there was a very good balance, especially after a few laps because at the beginning there was a lot of understeer but then there was a good balance. We just missed a few kph on the straight compared to people but maybe in Monza there is one more step and we are very optimistic for the next one.

GF: Yes, it was my choice. There was a problem starting with the new tyres, graining, and it was better to keep the same tyres. In fact I was still on the same set of tyres at the end of the race on the front, but new on the rear. It was the right choice. We did a very good job. I did two amazing starts, especially the second one from sixth position to second, and I'm happy. It's a great day, and I'd like to say thank you to the team.

MS: Yes, you can imagine. On the other hand, we still want to do well which is maybe going to be a little bit more difficult for us, looking at the characteristics of the circuit. From Hockenheim, we know Williams is very competitive there, so we have to work very hard and have to find out what we can do against this strong package of what they have, but we will certainly try, as we have tried here but anyway we have good reasons to celebrate down there.

MS: Yes, you have to be honest. I don't think the Benetton is normally not a car to run up front, so it was a bit of an unusual situation, even though they had good speed, obviously. But I guess David could have gone faster. Once he was past he went faster, so that was the extra bonus I had to disappear to quickly.

MS: I didn't know if he was on a one stop while I was on a two stop but if he was on a two stop, then clearly we were going very fast. We indicated that in the warm-up already this morning, that our package was very competitive. I don't know why but obviously I went in the T-car but I felt much more comfortable in the T-car and that was going really perfectly. I went in the race car and couldn't do the same performance, for whatever reason. You know when everything fits together then you can do these kind of things and today everything fitted together. I was lucky getting the start and having Fisico between me and the rest for the later part of the race.

MS: Yes, that was the only moment. Obviously I slid wide because I mixed the apex a little bit. I was tuning the car from the inside and just mixed the apex a bit and ran wide. I didn't expect a problem but then when I was sitting on the kerb I lost control of the steering for a while and I was a bit scared going into the wall, but luckily I got out of it.

MS: We have all these buttons to use them, so I use them.

MS: Honestly we said yesterday, because Ross's wife phoned up and said 'listen, tonight England, tomorrow Germany.' That's the way it should go and that's the way it went so I'm pretty happy with that, a bit disappointed as to what happened yesterday but I think if you imagine it is 26 years ago England last beat Germany in Germany, you can live with that.

MS: Yes, I was told by Jean about the situation so we knew at the time he was conscious and things didn't look too bad. Obviously we weren't aware of the true picture and we were made aware just before that things seemed alright and he's bruised and doesn't feel very well, but in the circumstances he's in good shape.

MS: You know, at this kind of speed, that naturally happens. You have these tyres as a cushion. I don't know whether the tyre caused any problems to Luciano except getting him out which took maybe a little bit longer, but that's something we need to analyse but honestly, I think the drivers, the FIA and everybody have done a good job there because remember, one or two years ago, we had a big kink in the barrier there where the barrier come back and if it had still been there, he would have had a really big one, that would have been massive, because this was still sideways and apparently the way it came back, he would have had a frontal impact at this speed. On the other hand, you still learn that you have to improve. Saying that, the way it happened is a bit unusual but you will never find total safety unfortunately.

DC: I'm quite happy with the result but it doesn't look quite as good as it sounds because obviously a lot of cars dropped out. I think three cars went out before the start proper but I still had a little bit of fun. Spa is a track where if you have a bad qualifying you can overtake, because of the fast corner through Eau Rouge and if one person has a small lift there it gives you momentum and I was able to overtake both Jenson and Giancarlo - although they were both going at quite a pace. They must have taken a big step forward since the start of the season... that's a pity! Second place in these circumstances, absolutely the best I could hope for so I'm pretty happy considering the way my weekend started and the way qualifying went and again the guys have given me a reliable car.

DC: That was from the back of the Renault, I've never seen so much oil all over my car since I raced at Le Mans and that was a 24 hour race! It was quite incredible - must have a big old oil tank. You get oil on your visor, you have to wipe it and it can be a bit of a distraction if you have to wipe it but it's just part of racing. It was a new helmet, so that's destroyed.

GF: It was the same power as normal but we have a new aerodynamic package, which is much better, the car is much easier to drive, there is much more grip even to find a good setup. Already on Friday we understood the settings to be competitive for the weekend and then we took a chance to do a different thing to do the race with the same set of front tyres. That was the right choice. Just after each pit stop there was a little too much on the steering but after a few laps there was a good balance. I did two fantastic starts - the first from eighth to fourth and the second from sixth to second and maybe that opened possibilities. After the second start it was right to go for the position.

GF: There was Bernoldi in front of us and I lost a little bit downforce and David was overtaking me in the hairpin - it was very close but then he overtook me on the straight. There was no possibility to keep the second position but third is great today.

GF: It was very exciting even in the race to be in second position, even the team was happy on the radio and many times I heard 'push, push, don't be lazy!' So I was pushing, doing my best and there was David pushing me so it wasn't so easy.

MS: That's Flavio!

MS: You feel disappointed obviously for him, that's the immediate feeling. I didn't really get any notice when we left the grid, then I saw his car in the mirrors jacked up, I was thinking 'what's wrong' and I went on the radio but I knew it was too late for him.

MS: It's natural like in the past he was further back and I was in front you might exchange a little bit more but in the moment as we are doing now, the competition we have, we don't talk about these things. Neither I want to tell him my strategy nor he wants to tell me so we don't even waste the time trying to talk about it. We talk about lots of other things.

GF: No launch control, we have been many races since Silverstone I think.

DC: At the second start he got pushed wide out of La Source and I passed him into Eau Rouge, then was behind Jenson, who I got past at the end of the straight.

GF: After four years it's not easy to leave, I have a very good feeling with the guys, the engineers, and I'm a little bit disappointed. Even because the Benetton team is starting to be quick. But the problem was just one year contract, and with Jordan was three years so I had to think about my future. I hope it's the right choice and we'll see next year.

MS: That's not really fair, it doesn't have the first priority but it does mean something to me, to have this number on my count. Actually I'm very delighted about this but I will be much more delighted sitting one day in the sofa, retired, and I have a cigar and beer in hand and think about it.

At the start Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Tarso Marques both stall. The start is aborted and Frentzen is sent to the back of the grid for the race. At the start of the second parade lap pole man Juan Pablo Montoya is unable to get away and so has to join the field at the back.

* Lap 1: The race begins with Ralf Schumacher taking the lead from his brother Michael. Rubens Barrichello is third with a fast-starting Giancarlo Fisichella up to fourth. Jacques Villeneuve is fifth with Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard behind him and Jenson Button is up to eighth from 15th on the grid. On the run up the hill to Les Combes Michael Schumacher pulls out and passes his brother to take the lead. Both McLarens are also able to overtake Villeneuve. At the end of the lap Michael Schumacher is 2.1 seconds ahead of Ralf, who is under pressure from Barrichello. At the back of the field Montoya moves up to 17th.

* Lap 2: Michael Schumacher increases his lead to 3.4 seconds. The order remains the same down at the front but Jean Alesi moves up to 10th by passing Pedro de la Rosa and Olivier Panis. Also making progress is Montoya, who passes Jos Verstappen for 16th.

* Lap 3: Fisichella is overtaken by both Hakkinen and Coulthard. Further back Villeneuve is passed by Kimi Raikkonen for seventh place. In the midfield Jarno Trulli passes Eddie Irvine for 14th place. At the tail of the field Fernando Alonso retires with a mechanical problem.

* Lap 4: Schumacher's lead grows to 6.3 seconds. Alesi overtakes Button for ninth place while Olivier Panis drops from 12th to 14tth, being passed by Nick Heidfeld and Jarno Trulli. Behind them Eddie Irvine is under attack from Luciano Burti. The two collide at the fast left-hander before Blanchimont and both go very heavily into the barriers. Irvine is quickly out of his car but Burti remains in his car, the Prost half buried beneath the tyre barriers. A Safety Car is sent out. At the back of the field Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Tarso Marques both pit. When it becomes clear that it is a very serious accident the race is red-flagged. Kimi Raikkonen stops at the scene with a transmission failure.

According to the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations (Article 158. Case B) the first part of the race is declared null and void with the grid being established by the finishing order in the first four laps. Burti is taken to the circuit medical centre and after an initial medical inspection is flown by helicopter to the University Hospital in Liege conscious and in a stable condition but suffering from a serious concussion.

The Williams team is caught out by the start of the final parade lap and Ralf Schumacher's car is left sitting on the grid on its jacks. He has to start at the back of the grid as a result.

* Lap 1: Fisichella makes a sensational start from sixth slot on the grid to challenge Michael Schumacher for the lead. Barrichello is third with Button making also making a great start to run fourth. Coulthard is briefly ahead of Hakkinen but the Finn pulls ahead at the exit of La Source. There is a lot of bumping at the back of the field with Montoya colliding with de la Rosa. On the run up the hill Button is overtaken by Hakkinen and Coulthard. At Les Combes Coulthard passes his team mate while behind them the two BARs get into a muddle and both go off but still manage to keep going. Nick Heidfeld is also involved and stops in the course of the lap. Montoya also goes out with a mechanical problem. De la Rosa goes into the pits and retires.

* Lap 2: Schumacher pulls quickly away from Fisichella who is under attack from Barrichello and the two McLarens. Button is under threat from the two Jordans with Trulli just ahead of Alesi. They are chased by Villeneuve and Verstappen.

* Lap 3: Schumacher's lead is up to five seconds. Trulli overtakes Button to grab sixth.

* Lap 4: Alesi overtakes Button to move up to seventh place.

* Lap 6: Schumacher's lead is up to 14 seconds while Fisichella battles with Barrichello for second place. The pit stops begin with Trulli stopping. He drops from sixth to 12th. Villeneuve overtakes Button to take eighth place.

* Lap 7: Fifth-placed Hakkinen and sixth-placed Alesi both pit. Further back Panis goes into the pits. When he rejoins he crosses the white line and is later given a 10-second stop-go penalty.

* Lap 8: Jos Verstappen stops from 10th place and drops to the back of the field.

* Lap 9: The pit stops continue with Barrichello, Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher pitting. Further back Enrique Bernoldi and Marques also stop.

* Lap 10: Fisichella goes into the lead as Michael Schumacher stops. Coulthard also calls into the pits along with Button, who is back up to fourth place.

* Lap 11: Fisichella stops and Schumacher goes back into the lead. The order behind him is Fisichella second ahead of Coulthard, Hakkinen, Barrichello, Trulli and Alesi. Villeneuve is eighth Frentzen (on a one-stop strategy) is ninth and Button 10th, fighting off Ralf Schumacher.

* Lap 12: Panis comes in for his 10-second stop-go penalty.

* Lap 15: The race has settled down with Schumacher continuing to increase his lead. At the tail of the field Marques stops with a mechanical problem. He later rejoins several laps down.

* Lap 16: Frentzen pits and drops from ninth to 12th.

* Lap 17: Michael Schumacher loses concentration for a moment and runs wide at Stavelot.

* Lap 18: Barrichello hits a cone at the entry to the Bus Stop chicane and removes his front wing. The Brazilian has to do a full lap before pitting. This drops him back to ninth place. Button runs over the kerb at the entry to the chicane and his front wing comes off and he crashes into the barriers.

* Lap 19: The second pit stops begin with Trulli coming in first. He drops from fifth place to eighth.

* Lap 20: Alesi is running fifth when he stops for a second time. He drops to eighth.

* Lap 21: Villeneuve, taking his turn in fifth place, stops and falls back to ninth place. At the tail of the field Panis also stops but a refuelling problem loses him more time.

* Lap 22: Tenth-placed Verstappen has his second stop and loses a place to Frentzen.

* Lap 23: Fisichella and Hakkinen both stop but they retain their positions.

* Lap 24: Coulthard, briefly second, stops and falls behind Fisichella again.

* Lap 25: Michael Schumacher has his second stop but his lead is up to nearly 45 seconds and so he remains ahead. Ralf Schumacher also stops, having fought his way to fifth place. He drops back to ninth.

* Lap 28: Coulthard manages to get ahead of Fisichella at the top of the hill.

* Lap 29: Ralf Schumacher overtakes Villeneuve to move to eighth place.

* Lap 32: Trulli retires in a huge cloud of smoke with what appears to be an engine failure.

* Lap 36: Michael Schumacher wins his 52nd career victory to become the winner of the most Grands Prix in Formula 1 history. David Coulthard is second with Fisichella third, Hakkinen fourth, Barrichello fifth and Alesi sixth, the Frenchman just managing to hold off Ralf Schumacher.

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: I only actually went through two sets of tyres. We did the first run on wets, but we knew it was going to get drier and drier, so we did a decent lap to get us on to the grid and then we had to really play completely on slick tyres and it really worked well. The team did absolutely brilliantly, and I think everybody did a fantastic job.

JPM: No, I know the track quite well and I like it. At this moment we are quickest as well in the dry so it was looking quite promising. On my first lap on dries it was OK, but it was quite reserved, so I said I really have to give it a go and I did.

RALF SCHUMACHER: I can't really remember. No, we were discussing what to do and it wasn't an easy decision to take, actually. At a certain point, we still had that problem with the intermediate tyre and we had to go on slicks quite early while some Bridgestone runners still stayed on intermediates. At the end of the day, it didn't work too bad. It's always under these conditions that you need to have a bit confidence that the car's doing well and you need to have good luck. Then you're there.

RS: It became fairly even. On the main line on the straight it was already dry with just some corners, especially turn three and four it was still a bit wet.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER: Basically, yes.

MS: Put it this way, I'm the Bridgestone pole position man today. If you look at the gap to the next Bridgestone guy it's quite big. We timed it right for your situation. It looked that way already this morning when these guys went on dry tyres in slightly damp conditions they got good grip. You know these tyres have an advantage in one area and then a disadvantage in another area. A race is going to be a long way and it should be alright for us.

JPM: No definitely dry. I think the car is working really well on dry. Yesterday was a big struggle with the set-up but I had a good think overnight and it really paid off.

JPM: Before the start of the session, we decided to keep most of it dry and do the basic things - maybe the wing and little stuff like that - and we left it like that. The only thing we added was that as soon as we put on slick tyres we put on a bit of wing.

JPM: It's brilliant. I thought it was going to be close, so I gave it a really big 'go' the second lap and looking at the time difference it's brilliant.

JPM: Every time you went through a corner it was a bit drier. There were corners where you couldn't really see the dry bit but there was quite good grip, surprisingly.

JPM: Not really. You're really out of the corner in the middle of the straight. It wasn't a big thing. You lifted a little bit.

RS: No I can't at all!

RS: No, we had a tyre decision to do and everyone seemed to be a bit unsure. I'll have to look at it, there wasn't a panic in the pits, it wasn't that bad, in the end I knew it was going to go quicker. Under these circumstances you need to be out at the right time, you need to find the spaces to give 100% and, well, he was simply better today than I was.

Q: I don't think you were expecting to be this competitive.

RS: Not at all. In the dry it looked that way, somehow yesterday although we were far away we thought that there might be a fair chance for us but really it was better than we expected.

RS: It has become a lot better but there's still a lot of room for improvement.

MS: Put it this way, it was very tight for us to use the dry tyres. Honestly I was lucky, within the lap I went out on dry tyres and the lap actually I started it did dry up enough just to use the dry tyres and go faster, because when I went out I was almost sure from our point of view we couldn't improve. But then in the last lap it just dried out again just a little bit extra, which helped us.

MS: No. Why? I mean listen, with the conditions we are, not at all. It's a long race tomorrow, it's supposed to be dry, I think we're going to look quick in the dry or in the wet. We may have a little problem I see now in these intermediate conditions on dry tyres but why be upset?

MS: It's going to be the usual problem we experience at circuits like Monza, Hockenheim or here - high-speed circuits with a lot of spray on the straights - which is going to be difficult. Saying that there was an unusual circumstance with Pedro coming out of the pits and when we are doing the race we don't expect people to come out of the pits initially until certain things have sorted out.

MS: It is the usual situation. You need both, you need a good car, good set-up and then if you're good as a driver you can use the benefit. You have a lot of high-speed corners, a lot of corner combinations, and that makes it different to circuits like Hockenheim and Monza where it's only stop and go.

JPM: I don't know how many seconds they were off the pace so it doesn't really count. Because here we have a tyre that Ralf tested last week.

MS: Different circumstances, different weather... they're going to learn for sure they are, trying it out and getting some confidence but it is their first year, we are there for many years so I don't want to get into this kind of argument and use this as excuses.

Heavy rain at the start of the session was followed by a sunny spell which enabled the track to dry out progressively and all the top times were set by cars on dry weather rubber at the end of the session.

Technical: No changes in car spec for today, apart from set-up.

Sporting: Both drivers opted for a dry chassis set-up before qualifying and only made slight aero adjustments once the session started. Both men reported that grip was increasing dramatically throughout the final laps, but Ralf admitted that it was a rather hectic session in which it was crucial to be out at the right moment.

Quotes: Montoya: "In the closing stages I was amazed how much grip there was, even when the track still looked very wet."

Technical: No major changes, but Schumacher had one car set up for the wet and another for the dry.

Sporting: Schumacher started session with long run in the T-car before switching to the race chassis in dry weather trim. Explained that he thought it was very tight to use dry tyres towards the end. Barrichello stayed on intermediates to the end of the session.

Quotes: Schumacher: "When I first went out on dry tyres I really thought I'd made a mistake."

Technical: No major changes for today.

Sporting: Frentzen delighted with progress fine-tuning the chassis and the strategy for the session was absolutely correct. Burti reported that his chassis set-up was the same as Frentzen, but he needed more front end grip.

Quotes: Frentzen: "To the last minute I was hesitating about switching to dry tyres, but Alain was pushing me to do so."

Technical: No major technical changes for today.

Sporting: Villeneuve reported that the car felt very good, starting on wets and then switching to dry tyres for a long run at the end. Panis had an electrical problem which a change of steering wheel failed to rectify and his third run on dry tyres turned out to be too late.

Quotes: Craig Pollock: "That was great team work between Jacques and his engineers."

Technical: No major changes for today

Sporting: Hakkinen started on wets, then switched to intermediates and then to dry weather rubber for his final run. Coulthard stayed out on intermediates towards the end, despite wanting to come in for dry rubber but was told by his team there was insufficient time left.

Quotes: Coulthard: "I also got held up badly by one of the Minardis which was cruising through Blanchimont on the racing line and you lose a whole bunch of time in those situations."

Technical: No major changes for today.

Sporting: Fisichella quite happy with the set-up of his car, reporting it felt good in both wet and dry conditions. Admitted it was difficult to make the right tyre choice. Button frustrated by too much understeer.

Quotes: Fisichella: "The car felt pretty good and we're quite hopeful for tomorrow."

Technical: No changes for qualifying.

Sporting: Irvine frustrated by being on intermediates rather than wets or dry tyres while de la Rosa stopped on the circuit with loss of oil pressure. Irvine also had to switch to the spare car because of an exhaust problem."

Quotes: Niki Lauda: "The made the wrong call staying on intermediates which was a tactical error."

Technical: No major changes for qualifying.

Sporting: Very disappointing day with both drivers hampered by jumping out of fifth gear during the morning. Gearboxes changed on all three cars, but problem persisted during the afternoon. This caused Heidfeld to stop out on the circuit at Burnenville, bringing out the yellow flags.

Quotes: Heidfeld: "It was very frustrating because we had high hopes for the session."

Technical: No changes for qualifying.

Sporting: Both drivers opted to remain on intermediates and did not switch to dry weather tyres.

Quotes: Alesi: "I'm very disappointed. I went out with intermediate tyres at the end and I really believe now that I could have gone quicker on dry weather tyres."

Technical: No changes for today.

Sporting: Both drivers failed to get out on the circuit in time to start their final run before the chequered flag was shown. Bernoldi also ran out of fuel at the Bus Stop chicane

Quotes: Graham Taylor: "Enrique was on a superb lap at the end of the session, knocking a lot of time off his splits. We could only hope that he had enough fuel to finish the lap and he nearly made it too."

Technical: No changes for today.

Sporting: Disappointed not to have made the cut but hopeful that the team will be able to start at stewards' discretion.

Quotes: Marques: "I think David Coulthard may have been confused as to whether it was a Minardi which was in his way at Burnenville."

GP Belgium Results Qualifying session

 P. No  Driver        Team - Engine    Tyres     Times      
 1.  6  MONTOYA       Williams BMW        M   1'52"072  223.828 Km/h   
 2.  5  R.SCHUMACHER  Williams BMW        M   1'52"959    + 0'00"887 
 3.  1  M.SCHUMACHER  Ferrari             B   1'54"685    + 0'02"613  
 4. 22  FRENTZEN      Prost Acer          M   1'55"233    + 0'03"161  
 5.  2  BARRICHELLO   Ferrari             B   1'56"116    + 0'04"044   
 6. 10  VILLENEUVE    BAR Honda           B   1'57"038    + 0'04"966  
 7.  3  HAKKINEN      McLaren Mercedes    B   1'57"043    + 0'04"971 
 8.  7  FISICHELLA    Benetton Renault    M   1'57"668    + 0'05"596   
 9.  4  COULTHARD     McLaren Mercedes    B   1'58"008    + 0'05"936  
10. 19  DE LA ROSA    Jaguar              M   1'58"519    + 0'06"447 
11.  9  PANIS         BAR Honda           B   1'58"838    + 0'06"766   
12. 17  RAIKKONEN     Sauber Petronas     B   1'59"050    + 0'06"978  
13. 12  ALESI         Jordan Honda        B   1'59"128    + 0'07"056  
14. 16  HEIDFELD      Sauber Petronas     B   1'59"302    + 0'07"230   
15.  8  BUTTON        Benetton Renault    M   1'59"587    + 0'07"515   
16. 11  TRULLI        Jordan Honda        B   1'59"647    + 0'07"575 
17. 18  IRVINE        Jaguar              M   1'59"689    + 0'07"617   
18. 23  BURTI         Prost Acer          M   1'59"900    + 0'07"828   
19. 14  VERSTAPPEN    Arrows Asiatech     B   2'02"039    + 0'09"967  
20. 21  ALONSO        Minardi European    M   2'02"594    + 0'10"522  
21. 15  BERNOLDI      Arrows Asiatech     B   2'03"048    + 0'10"976  
22. 20  MARQUES       Minardi European    M   2'04"204    + 0'12"132  


107% time : 1'59"917

 Back to Mainpage