Trulli firmly on Monaco pole

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F1 Grand Prix, GP Monaco, Monte Carlo Circuitmc

The 2004 Monaco Grand Prix is set to be a very exiting one, as Jarno Trulli will lead the challange for the winning trophee. However, it seemed at first that Schumacher was heading for a pole position, the Italian was the first to outpace the champion, and with no less than 0.5 seconds.

The six time world champion had provisional pole for several minutes, as he had to come out as the first of the big shots, after a poor performance in the first qualifying session.

However, hopes of several F1 fans rose when suddenly it became clear Trulli was heading for an exellent lap time. He was down however in the first sector, but gradually took the lead, with 0.3 seconds advantage in the last sector only.

His Spanish teammate Alonso at that time took second place, 4 tenths behind his teammate on pole. Jenson Button though later on second place would be a good one to start his race, after which the Brit drove to the first row, 0.300 seconds behind Trulli.

Later in the session, there was a sign of the hard work at McLaren, as Coulthard put himself just behind Sato's BAR on P9, while his teammate Raikkonen managed to get in between both Ferrari's, and therefore will be starting tomorrow's race from 6th place.

The greatest disappointment was for Williams, with JP Montoya having to deal with a seemingly unstable car, resulting in a tenth place on the grid. Ralf on the other hand at first drove a very good lap better than Button's, but he will be moved ten places down the grid for his engine switch earlier this weekend.

Today's times were the following:
1. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'13"985 162.519 Km/h
2. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'14"345 + 0'00"360
3. 9 BUTTON BAR Honda M 1'14"396 + 0'00"411
4. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'14"408 + 0'00"423
5. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'14"516 + 0'00"531
6. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'14"592 + 0'00"607
7. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'14"716 + 0'00"731
8. 10 SATO BAR Honda M 1'14"827 + 0'00"842
9. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'14"951 + 0'00"966
10. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'15"039 + 0'01"054
11. 11 FISICHELLA Sauber Petronas B 1'15"352 + 0'01"367
12. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'15"725 + 0'01"740
13. 17 PANIS Toyota M 1'15"859 + 0'01"874
14. 15 KLIEN Jaguar Cosworth M 1'15"919 + 0'01"934
15. 16 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'16"169 + 0'02"184
16. 12 MASSA Sauber Petronas B 1'16"248 + 0'02"263
17. 18 HEIDFELD Jordan Ford B 1'16"488 + 0'02"503
18. 19 PANTANO Jordan Ford B 1'17"443 + 0'03"458
19. 21 BAUMGARTNER Minardi Cosworth B 1'20"060 + 0'06"075
20. 20 BRUNI Minardi Cosworth B 1'20"115 + 0'06"130