Montoya masters Monza qualifying with record lap.

Juan Pablo Montoya drove into the record books after he turned the fastest lap in Formula One history to win the pole yesterday [Sept. 14] for the Italian Grand Prix.

2000 Indianapolis 500 winner Montoya averaged 161.448 mph (259.827 km/h) in his Williams-BMW for a time of 1 minute, 20.264 seconds around the 11-turn, 3.6-mile (5.793-km) Monza circuit.

That beat the 17-year-old record that Keke Rosberg set in qualifying for the 1985 British Grand Prix at Silverstone in his Williams-Honda turbo. Rosberg's average lap speed was 160.938 mph (259.005 km/h).

"I think it's good," Montoya said of setting the record, "but as long as we keep coming back to Monza, and the track doesn't change much, probably next year it is going to be beaten again. It is pretty amazing how quick we went, about two seconds a lap quicker than last year, so it is pretty impressive, I would say."

Rosberg's record stood for 17 years because chicanes have been added to high-speed circuits such as Silverstone, and chicanes were already in place at tracks such as Monza. Furthermore, the FIA has kept car's speeds in check over the years by reducing engine size, banning turbochargers, reducing aerodynamic downforce and tire grip and by applying other restrictions to the cars.

Michael Schumacher qualified his Ferrari second at 1:20.521.

"We just were not fast enough in qualifying condition," Schumacher said. "We hope, naturally, that we can be fast enough tomorrow [Sunday]."

Ralf Schumacher ended up third quickest at 1:20.542 in his Williams-BMW.

"I couldn't make it today [Saturday] due to a mistake in my third run, and also the red flag at the end of the session didn't help," Ralf Schumacher said. "My tyres were not fresh anymore, and if you are not in front when you get out of the pits, then it's difficult to improve. Anyways, third place is a good position to start tomorrow's [Sunday's] race from."

Rubens Barrichello put his Ferrari fourth on the grid. Kimi Raikkonen had qualified his West McLaren-Mercedes fifth, but officials penalized Raikkonen for causing an avoidable collision (with Takuma Sato) and deleted his fastest lap. That dropped Raikkonen to sixth behind Eddie Irvine's Jaguar-Cosworth.
Sato and Raikkonen escaped uninjured from the accident that brought out the red flags with just more than two minutes left in the session so the cars could be moved to safety.

David Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes), Pedro de la Rosa (Jaguar-Cosworth), Jacques Villeneuve (Lucky Strike BAR-Honda) and Mika Salo (Panasonic Toyota) rounded out the top 10 qualifiers.

As on Friday, Michelin proved to be the dominant tyre. Only three Bridgestone-shod cars qualified in the top 11 spots.

Last year, Montoya started from the pole and went on to earn his first Grand Prix victory. Can he do the same thing today [Sunday]?

"I think the chances, compared with the other races, are pretty good," Montoya said. "We looked very competitive this [Saturday] morning. We have to wait and see what happens, but the car is working really well here, and things can play into our hands a little bit."