Black Z
May 23rd, 2004, 12:40 AM
http://f1.racing-live.com/photos/imgactu/04/trulli-monaco-wri_200504_220x148.jpg
Jarno Trulli showed impressive pace all weekend in his Renault and this afternoon went one step further as he claimed Pole Position for the Monaco Grand Prix. The Italian lapped the 3.340km street circuit in 1:13.985s, a new lap record to claim the first Pole Position of the year for Renault and his first Pole Position of his career.
Ralf Schumacher set the second fastest time in qualifying, lapping under four-tenths of a second slower than Trulli, but thanks to his engine change in Friday Practice, last year’s Pole Position man is demoted 10 places on the grid and starts from 12th position.
This gained Jenson Button one position and the British BAR Honda driver duly lines up for the Monaco Grand Prix alongside Trulli ahead of the second fast-starting Renault of Fernando Alonso.
Running the harder Bridgestone compound due to durability concerns with the softer option tyre, Michael Schumacher put in a blistering lap in his Ferrari to qualify in fourth position half a second shy of Jarno Trulli. For Schumacher, tactics will come into play come the 78- lap Grand Prix.
Over at McLaren Mercedes Kimi Raikkonen drove an aggressive lap to qualify in fifth position while David Coulthard produced a clean lap for eighth. The results, while probably not what Ron Dennis and McLaren dream of, do however provide a glimmer of hope in this difficult season for the Woking squad.
Rubens Barrichello had never qualified at Monaco better than fourth and the trend continued today as the Brazilian qualified in sixth position ahead of the unfortunate Takuma Sato. The BAR Honda driver looked strong in the first sector of his lap, but touched the curb exiting the tunnel. Nearly losing control, Sato locked up his front brakes and the small error cost the Japanese driver dear. Expect a strong race from Sato.
Unusually, Juan Pablo Montoya made some chassis adjustments prior to his qualifying run in order to try and gain some pace in his BMW Williams. It was an on-the-limit lap from the Colombian but clearly last year’s winner is not happy with his set up as he was just ninth – three places clear of team-mate Ralf Schumacher who was demoted ten positions on the grid.
Giancarlo Fisichella hauled his Sauber Petronas into tenth position at a circuit where the Italian traditionally performs well while team- mate Felipe Massa made a mistake exiting the tunnel, taking too-much curbing and compromising his lap. Massa starts 16th.
Having put the original Ford V10 engine in the spare R5 chassis following this morning’s practice session fire, Mark Webber pulled his lap out of the bag in the final sector of the lap to qualify in 11th place ahead of Ralf Schumacher.
1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner Olivier Panis did a solid job for Toyota, qualifying 13th ahead of Christian Klien whose first visit to Monaco in F1 machinery has been successful in terms of pace all weekend. Klien starts 14th ahead of the second Toyota of Cristiano da Matta.
Over at Jordan Ford, Nick Heidfeld put in a solid performance to qualify 17th ahead of team-mate Giorgio Pantano. Minardi qualified on the back row of the 20-car grid with Zsolt Baumgartner gaining the upper hand over Gianmaria Bruni.
The Monaco Grand Prix promises a great deal with Michael Schumacher chasing his sixth straight win of the year, but starting fourth, the Ferrari star faces a tough race. Jarno Trulli meanwhile has no intention of letting this race escape his clasp.
Jarno Trulli showed impressive pace all weekend in his Renault and this afternoon went one step further as he claimed Pole Position for the Monaco Grand Prix. The Italian lapped the 3.340km street circuit in 1:13.985s, a new lap record to claim the first Pole Position of the year for Renault and his first Pole Position of his career.
Ralf Schumacher set the second fastest time in qualifying, lapping under four-tenths of a second slower than Trulli, but thanks to his engine change in Friday Practice, last year’s Pole Position man is demoted 10 places on the grid and starts from 12th position.
This gained Jenson Button one position and the British BAR Honda driver duly lines up for the Monaco Grand Prix alongside Trulli ahead of the second fast-starting Renault of Fernando Alonso.
Running the harder Bridgestone compound due to durability concerns with the softer option tyre, Michael Schumacher put in a blistering lap in his Ferrari to qualify in fourth position half a second shy of Jarno Trulli. For Schumacher, tactics will come into play come the 78- lap Grand Prix.
Over at McLaren Mercedes Kimi Raikkonen drove an aggressive lap to qualify in fifth position while David Coulthard produced a clean lap for eighth. The results, while probably not what Ron Dennis and McLaren dream of, do however provide a glimmer of hope in this difficult season for the Woking squad.
Rubens Barrichello had never qualified at Monaco better than fourth and the trend continued today as the Brazilian qualified in sixth position ahead of the unfortunate Takuma Sato. The BAR Honda driver looked strong in the first sector of his lap, but touched the curb exiting the tunnel. Nearly losing control, Sato locked up his front brakes and the small error cost the Japanese driver dear. Expect a strong race from Sato.
Unusually, Juan Pablo Montoya made some chassis adjustments prior to his qualifying run in order to try and gain some pace in his BMW Williams. It was an on-the-limit lap from the Colombian but clearly last year’s winner is not happy with his set up as he was just ninth – three places clear of team-mate Ralf Schumacher who was demoted ten positions on the grid.
Giancarlo Fisichella hauled his Sauber Petronas into tenth position at a circuit where the Italian traditionally performs well while team- mate Felipe Massa made a mistake exiting the tunnel, taking too-much curbing and compromising his lap. Massa starts 16th.
Having put the original Ford V10 engine in the spare R5 chassis following this morning’s practice session fire, Mark Webber pulled his lap out of the bag in the final sector of the lap to qualify in 11th place ahead of Ralf Schumacher.
1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner Olivier Panis did a solid job for Toyota, qualifying 13th ahead of Christian Klien whose first visit to Monaco in F1 machinery has been successful in terms of pace all weekend. Klien starts 14th ahead of the second Toyota of Cristiano da Matta.
Over at Jordan Ford, Nick Heidfeld put in a solid performance to qualify 17th ahead of team-mate Giorgio Pantano. Minardi qualified on the back row of the 20-car grid with Zsolt Baumgartner gaining the upper hand over Gianmaria Bruni.
The Monaco Grand Prix promises a great deal with Michael Schumacher chasing his sixth straight win of the year, but starting fourth, the Ferrari star faces a tough race. Jarno Trulli meanwhile has no intention of letting this race escape his clasp.