Montoya upsets Ferrari formation

Ferrari's threat to repeat the controversial team orders of two weeks ago took on a hollow ring yesterday when neither red car finished on the front row during qualifying for today's Monaco Grand Prix. The best Michael Schumacher could do was third, while Rubens Barrichello's chances of once again leading the Ferrari duo were seriously compromised when the Brazilian managed no better than fifth place. The Ferrari bosses will have had more weighty matters on their minds last night as they considered how to deal with an onslaught from Williams-BMW and McLaren-Mercedes rather than dwelling on the luxury of deciding which of their drivers finishes first.

The timely intervention of a typically dramatic qualifying at Monaco diverted attention from the continuing fuss over the results in Austria. Barrichello held pole position halfway through the 60-minute session but, as more rubber was laid on the street circuit and the drivers' adrenalin rose as lap times fell, the fight for pole became the property of Juan Pablo Montoya and Britain's David Coulthard, the Colombian finally winning the most important starting position of the season by four-tenths of a second.

'The car has been pretty good from the start here,' said Montoya. 'We improved it quite a bit this morning and then tried a couple more changes that made it better still for qualifying. Then, during my last lap, I was lucky because I got a clear lap.'

Coulthard was not so fortunate although the Scotsman's complaints about slower cars getting in the way fell on deaf ears at Ferrari, where Barrichello roundly criticised Coulthard for spoiling the last few corners of what had been a quick lap.

With 20 minutes to go, Coulthard took pole from Michael Schumacher, only to lose it one minute later to Montoya. With 13 minutes remaining, Ralf Schumacher turned the tables on his Williams team-mate, Coulthard returning the compliment almost immediately. It was in the dying seconds that Montoya's stunning lap underlined the assistance offered by Michelin tyres as Ferrari became the only Bridgestone representative in the top 10.

'This track suits our car better than some,' said Coulthard, who had not qualified higher than fourth in any of the previous six races this season. 'The Michelins are working very well but I had a lot of traffic. You always hope your last run is going to be your quickest but unfortunately I got traffic again.'

This battle - plus a disap pointing performance from the Renault drivers as Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button, unable to find clear laps, set seventh- and eighth-fastest times respectively - halted discussion about Ferrari's plans for this afternoon's 78-lap race. But it did not lessen the chances of the Italian team being punished when Ferrari's representatives go before the FIA World Motor Sport Council on 26 June. The fact that Ferrari has not been ostracised in the paddock indicates a softening of opinion, a view that is not held by many spectators judging by the loud booing which greeted Schumacher as he walked to the pits.

Max Mosley, president of the FIA, has not ruled out the possibility of a sanction even though team orders are not illegal. The abuse of podium procedure is a punishable offence, as is a vaguely worded rule concerning the compromising of competition. Mosley said Ferrari, if found guilty, could face anything from a fine to the deduction of points. It is also thought that Ferrari might be banned from the next race which, in this case, would be the British Grand Prix on 7 July.

Sir Jackie Stewart, president of the British Racing Drivers' Club which owns Silverstone, has said that such a move would be inadvisable because of the commercial implications associated with the absence of the reigning world champions. Mosley, scarcely able to disguise his irritation, said such a remark put the FIA in a difficult position since the governing body went to great lengths to distance itself completely from the commercial side of F1.

In the meantime, an entertaining race that gives a winner other than Michael Schumacher will ease the condemnation. Montoya's track record - he crashed out of last year's race - suggests he might not win but the Williams driver says much has changed in 12 months.

'People think I don't like Monaco,' said Montoya. 'In the end, you like circuits where the car is working well. It's something I didn't have last year but this time it's different. The car feels really good. I'm expecting that to continue all the way through the race.'

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