Michael Schumacher bounced back in style at Monza in final qualifying for tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix. Putting the difficult last few races behind him he punched the air as he crossed the finish line of his flying lap. Team mate Rubens Barrichello and title rival Juan Pablo Montoya were the last two out and the Italian Tifosi were on their feet as Montoya missed out on pole by five hundredths of a second.

The third title contender, Kimi Raikkonen, grabbed fourth place behind Barrichello to set up an exciting race. Test driver Marc Gene took over Ralf Schumacher's Williams-BMW for Saturday qualifying, and starting first, in the one lap format set an excellent fifth place after leading the timesheets for most of the session until Kaikkonen bettered his time.

Next up is qualifying specialist Jarno Trulli, ahead of Jenson Button who put in an excellent performance, while David Coulthard again struggled with the format and starts behind the BAR in eighth. Oliver Panis in the Toyota and Jaques Villeneuve in the second BAR-Honda round out the top ten.

FERRARI QUALIFYING REPORT

Monza, 13th September, Qualifying - Second session, Michael Schumacher: 1st 1.20.963 3 laps chassis 229, Rubens Barrichello: 3rd 1.21.242 3 laps chassis 233, Temperatures: air 28 C, track 39 C 

Seventh pole of the season for Ferrari, the fifth with Michael Schumacher. It is the sixteenth time that the Scuderia has started the Italian Grand Prix from the number one position. It is Ferrari’s 165th pole postion and Michael’s 55th, his third here at Monza. 

Jean Todt: 'It was a great qualifying session with very exciting moments, given that it is all decided on just a single lap. Having Michael on pole and Rubens in third place is heart warming, both for us and for our tifosi. Everything went well today; the car, the engine, the team, the drivers and the support from our technical partners, especially Bridgestone and Shell. However, this is just one step in a crucial weekend. Tomorrow we have another 53 steps to tackle before crossing the finish line at the end of a race which will play a key role in the final outcome of the season, given that there is everything to play for in just three Grands Prix.' 

Michael Schumacher: 'It is a while since I have been on pole, but I guess this is the right time to do it. It is the nature of this sport that you go through ups and downs and in the last two races, we have been a bit unlucky and were not very competitive. Now, we have turned this situation around thanks to the hard work of everyone in the team and at the factory. Our President has helped us to focus on the problems we experienced in the last two races, but we have not been put under any extra pressure here. We have made improvements to all areas of the car, while Bridgestone has given us a very good tyre. For the race, it will depend on who has the most consistent performance package over the distance. Tomorrow we will see who has got it right.' 

Rubens Barrichello: 'It is a pleasure to be here with two Ferraris on the front two rows, in front of our tifosi. This morning, I was not so happy with the car, but it was good in the warm-up. Then we did some work on the brakes and maybe they were not up to temperature on my run. I think this was the reason why I locked up the fronts. This meant I made a minor mistake in Turn 1 and lost speed in Turn 2. It is a shame as the car was good and the last two sectors were fine. I am hopeful of doing well tomorrow, as last week I did a lot of work to ensure the car i consistent over a race distance while still having good speed. It is going to be a long race.' 

Ross Brawn: 'We must not get carried away, but this result is a great boost for the whole team. Both our drivers are on the clean side of the track, which could help us compete for good positions at the start. This result is a credit to everyone and a reward for all their hard work. We have been a bit under pressure over the last few weeks and this pole is fantastic for Ferrari and for Bridgestone. We have a great package at our disposal. There is no particular area in which we have improved since the last race: it down to all the work we have done with our technical partners.'