Montoya 2nd after Italian GP Qualifying


JPM second ...

By Andrew Hooper
September 13 2003

After the final qualifying session at Monza WilliamsF1 drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Marc Gene would be 2nd and 5th respectively. It was a fantastic effort by both drivers, especially for Marc who was brought in to replace regular driver Ralf Schumacher. Pole by taken by Michael Schumacher.

   
Italian GP Saturday Qualifying
 
The final qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix would see Juan Pablo and Marc finish the session in second and fifth positions respectively. Marc was able to hold onto provisional pole until late in the session when his time was first beaten by Raikkonen, then by Michael Schumacher, Barrichello, and finally by team-mate Juan Pablo. Marc's time was an excellent effort given his limited experience of one lap qualifying. As for Juan Pablo his lap would see him lose just a few tenths to Michael Schumacher in the final sector which would see him finish second.

MontoyaWith Marc Gene replacing Ralf Schumacher he would be the first driver to take to the track for what would be Marc's first single lap qualifying experience. He would lose some time in the first chicane, but would put in an acceptable lap with a time of 1m:21.834.

Next would be Minardi's' Jos Verstappen. After not been able to qualify on Friday Jo would put in a clean lap but was way off the pace. His time would be 3.2 seconds behind Gene. Next was Verstappen's team-mate Nicolas Kiesa. Kiesa would finish 1.7 seconds behind Verstappen after making a mistake at Ascari.

Jordan's Zsolt Baumgartner would start his flying lap but would be slower than Verstappen through sector one, losing 0.5sec more through sector 2. He would be third but some four seconds off Gene's pace. Team-mate Fisichella was next but he was to suffer from the slow top speed of his Jordan been 13km/h slower than Gené at the end of the main straight. He would lose time through all the sectors to Gene finishing in second with a lap time of 1m:22.992.

Marc Gene in WilliamsF1 garageThe next group of drivers would see Jaguar's Justin Wilson the first driver out. Justin would finish hi lap in position three 1.65 seconds down on Gene. Next was McLaren's David Coulthard. By the end of sector two the Scot was 0.4 down on Gene. As he crossed the finish line his lap of 1m:22.471 was good enough for second but still 0.637 behind Marc.

For BAR's Jacques Villeneuve his lap would be spoilt by what appeared to be a problem with oversteer. Jacques would move into third 0.8 seconds behind Gené. For Sauber's Nick Heidfeld his lap would see him set a time of 26.9 in sector one, which was slower than Fisichella. He would finish in sixth two seconds off the pace.

BAR's Jenson Button was next out on the track and his lap would see him lead his team-mate Villeneuve and by the end of the lap he would set an impressive time of 1m:22.301 to be just 0.4 behind Gene. The next group of drivers would be lead by Toyota's Olivier Panis.

Panis had suffered an engine failure in the earlier practice but his flying lap would see him close to Gene's first sector time. After sector two he was 0.5 off and as he crossed the line his time of 1m:22.488 was good enough for fourth. Next was Heinz Harald Frentzen. Heinz was just 0.2 behind after sector one, 0.685 after sector two, completing the lap with a time of 1m:23.216 to be seventh.

Marc GeneNext was Renault's Hungarian Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard would spin his car in the first chicane and there after it was a case of simply making his way back to the pits. He would be starting the race from the back of the grid. He would set a time of 1m:40.405. It was later reported that he had problems with his traction control resulting in his spin. Team-mate Trulli was next. He would be just 0.3 down after sector one and at the end of his lap he would be just behind Marc with a lap time of 1m:21.944, 0.11 off the fastest time so far. Given the power advantage of the FW25 Trulli's time was very respectable.

Jaguar's Mark Webber was aiming to maintain his good Friday qualifying. But he would lose 0.5 in sector one to finish with a la time of 1m:22.754, 0.9 behind Marc Gene, to be in seventh. Championship challenger Kimi Raikkonen was next out. Team-mate Coulthard was currently in fourth. After setting fastest times in all the sectors the Fin would move into provisional pole leading Gene by 0.368 after setting a time of 1m:21.466. A great effort by the Finn.

MontoyaFor Toyota's Christiano Da Matta he was hoping to repeat his Friday qualifying effort where he was fourth. He would finish a disappointing ninth after losing a large amount of time in the final sector. Next came Ferrari's Michael Schumacher. With the Ferrari fans hoping for a pole time the German would be fastest through sector one, up in sector two, and he would set a lap time of 1m:20.963 to be 0.5 ahead of Raikkonen. With just Barrichello and Juan Pablo left to run Michael's time was looking very good. Rubens would start his lap and was 0.2 down after sector one. His time of 1m:21.424 to go second just behind his Ferrari team-mate.

Now it was down to Juan Pablo. He would match Michael's first sector time of 25.9, the same in the second sector, but he would lose a fraction in the final sector to finish the lap with a time of 1m:21.014 to be just 0.051 behind Michael. Despite not getting pole it was still a great effort by the WilliamsF1 driver.

 
P. No Driver Team - Engine Tyres Times Ave/Gaps

1. 1 M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'20"963 257.584 Km/h
2. 3 MONTOYA WilliamsF1 BMW M 1'21"014 + 0'00"051
3. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'21"242 + 0'00"279
4. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'21"466 + 0'00"503
5. 4 GENE WilliamsF1 BMW M 1'21"834 + 0'00"871
6. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'21"944 + 0'00"981
7. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B 1'22"301 + 0'01"338
8. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'22"471 + 0'01"508
9. 20 PANIS Toyota M 1'22"488 + 0'01"525
10. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 1'22"717 + 0'01"754
11. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'22"754 + 0'01"791
12. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'22"914 + 0'01"951
13. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B 1'22"992 + 0'02"029
14. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B 1'23"216 + 0'02"253
15. 15 WILSON Jaguar Cosworth M 1'23"484 + 0'02"521
16. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B 1'23"803 + 0'02"840
17. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B 1'25"078 + 0'04"115
18. 12 BAUMGARTNER Jordan Ford B 1'25"881 + 0'04"918
19. 18 KIESA Minardi Cosworth B 1'26"778 + 0'05"815
20. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'40"405 + 0'19"442 
 
 
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