Juan Pablo Montoya will start the Canadian Grand Prix from pole position, which means the third pole this year for both the driver and his team. Ralf Schumacher, the winner of last year's Grand Prix, qualified fourth after a technical problem during qualifying meant that he had to switch to the T-car, which was set for Montoya.

The Colombian set the quickest-ever time of 1.12.836 at the Montreal track in the 26th minute, to secure him the top slot for tomorrow's race. "I am obviously pleased to start the second race in a row from pole position!" he exclaimed in a press release.

"We went out quite early because rain was threatening and we wanted to get a decent lap in. I knew there was still some room for improvement in my lap time of this morning and I gave it a go, trying to put three good sectors together.

"It makes a true difference to go out on the track when no one has still run as it is really slippery. The car has been very competitive so far, and the tyres play a very important role. It is going to be an interesting race tomorrow where strategy and tyres will be important factors."

Schumacher was disappointed not to have been further up the grid, but is optimistic for tomorrow's race. "To be honest I was expecting more, but under these conditions I must be happy with the second row," he commented.

"The T-car was set up for Juan but I have managed to take the best out of it anyway. There was no way I could aim for pole position, though. I am confident for the race, also because I am sure that Michelin are competitive here."

Sam Michael, Chief Operations Engineer, added: "It was a very tight qualifying with the rain coming at the end of the session. It is very good for Juan to be on pole again, and it is a pity that Ralf could not join him on the front row.

"The potential was there, but after a problem with his race car he had to switch to the TCar. We quickly had to change the T-Car from Juan Pablo's settings to Ralf's.

"For tomorrow's race I expect a strong fight between Ferrari and us. We will get ready for this now and also we will keep hoping for good weather on Sunday."

Gerhard Berger, BMW motorsport director, was more expansive on Montoya's lightening-quick lap. "We were hoping to manage to get on pole here in Canada and we are clearly very pleased. Already in this morning's practice sessions it was clear that there was going to be a good fight with Ferrari," he said.

"Juan has set a perfect qualifying lap. It's a pity for Ralf, who had to jump into the T-car and couldn't improve his time. His race car was diagnosed with a leak in the engine pneumatic system. We should show strongly tomorrow, as in free practice we have prepared ourselves well for the race."