Formula One: Rare Slip From Master Michael Lets in Barrichello

Monza should have been a familiar cauldron of motor sport passion when Rubens Barrichello put a Ferrari on pole position for today's Italian Grand Prix. True, there was a fair amount of cheering and blaring horns, but the usual tumultuous response on a hot afternoon in this charismatic place was diluted by a comparatively poor turnout of Ferrari fanatics.

Perhaps it was the ninth pole for the home team this season; perhaps it was the high admission charges and the apparent predictability of another win for the red brigade; it could have been because Michael Schumacher wrapped up the championship two weeks ago in Belgium and put the brakes on advanced ticket sales. When your favourite driver has claimed the title for the seventh time and the fifth in succession for Ferrari, there is probably a limit to spending more than £150 per head to take a seat and pay your respects.

Whatever the reason, an unavoidable sense of anticlimax was summed up by a debate over statistics being the main talking point once qualifying had finished with the Ferraris of Barrichello and Schumacher split by the Williams-BMW of Juan Pablo Montoya. When Barrichello took 1min 20.089sec to cover the 3.6 miles of the oldest track in Europe, the Brazilian had averaged 161.804 mph to create the fastest qualifying lap ever for a closed road circuit. Or had he?

Not 45 minutes before, during the preliminary session that determines the running order for qualifying, Montoya (the previous record holder with a time established in 2002) had lapped in 1min 19.525sec at an average of 162.952 mph. Since both sessions were officially timed, the honours stay with Montoya, even though he was unable to repeat the performance when it really mattered.

"My qualifying lap wasn't the best," admitted Montoya. "I pushed very hard and made too many mistakes, particularly when braking for the second chicane. But even if my lap had been perfect, I think Ferrari would still have been ahead. Rubens put in a very good lap."

Arguably, it was one of the best laps of Barrichello's career, as he claimed his eleventh pole position in 193 starts.

"It was a really fantastic lap - I mean, a really unbelievable lap," said Ross Brawn, technical director at Ferrari. "It took us a bit by surprise and really put the pressure on Michael, who had a little difficulty in his lap."

"A little difficulty" is a euphemism for a rare mistake by the world champion, Schumacher being the first to put up his hand and confess to the error at the end of the lap.

"My lap started well with a good time in the first sector, where before I had been having trouble," said Schumacher. "I had been struggling to find the right balance on the car and we eventually found a little problem. By the time we had solved that, the delay had cost time when working on the perfect set-up. But I made a mistake at the last corner and that was my fault and had nothing to do with the car. I'm actually surprised to be as high as third."

Schumacher kept the place by the skin of his sparkling white teeth as Fernando Alonso failed by a mere eight-thousandths of a second to beat the Ferrari, the Renault driver heading a tight group who include the BAR-Honda of Jenson Button and Spa winner Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes) in sixth and seventh places.

When not debating just who is the fastest driver ever on a track where cars exceed 200 mph in three places, paddock gossip centred, once again, on the future of the British Grand Prix. The British Racing Drivers' Club answered an objection from Bernie Ecclestone by offering to promote the race even though there would be no profit in the move for the owners of Silverstone.

The response from Ecclestone that the money involved was not enough brought some tough talking from Ray Bellm, chairman of the BRDC. Bellm said the money offered (believed to be 10 million dollars) was income generated from the gate and they were not of a mind to give Ecclestone more, particularly as Ecclestone had already received more than $90m from Interpublic as settlement for the American company's obligation to promote the race.

The subtext is that Silverstone, having made continuous improvements, many at the behest of Ecclestone, can do no more. The suggestion would seem to be that if the British Grand Prix is removed from the 2005 calendar, it will be Ecclestone's responsibility and not that of the beleaguered club that F1's guru appears to dislike intensely.

Monza suffers from no such debate over its future. All that matters is that the race ought to serve up the necessary result for the devoted Ferrari fans, even if they are thinly spread.

How they line up:

1 R Barrichello 1:20.089

2 JP Montoya 1:20.620

3 M Schumacher 1:20.637

4 F Alonso 1:20.645

5 T Sato 1:20.715

6 J Button 1:20.786

7 K Raikkonen 1:20.877

8 A Pizzonia 1:20.888

9 J Trulli 1:21.027

10 D Coulthard 1:21.049

11 R Zonta 1:21.520

12 M Webber 1:21.602

13 O Panis 1:21.841

14 C Klien 1:21.989

15 G Fisichella 1:22.239

16 F Massa 1:22.287

17 N Heidfeld 1:22.301

18 G Pantano 1:23.239

19 Z Baumgartner 1:24.808

20 G Bruni 1:24.940