Montoya 2nd on grid for Italian Grand Prix

After his gearbox problems in pre-qualifying Nick Heidfeld would be first out in his Jordan. He would be joined by Zsolt Baumgartner, Gianmaria Bruni, Giorgio Pantano, and Olivier Panis. Nick's lap would see him finish with a time of 1m:22.301 to take provisional pole. Baumgartner was out on his lap and was two tenths down through Sector one to finish with a 1m:24.808 to be second. In the second Minardi Bruni would start his lap and he would finish a tenth down on his team-mate Baumgartner, a time of 1m:24.940.

Jordan's Giorgio Pantano was the fourth driver out and a lap of 1m:23.239 would see him second, but nearly a second down on his team-mate. Toyota's Olivier Panis would see his lap finish with a time of 1m:21.841 to easily move into provisional pole.

The next five drivers were Christian Klien, Ricardo Zonta, Mark Webber, Jarno Trulli, and Felipe Massa. For Klein, despite the fastest final sector time, he could only manage a time of 1m:21.989 to go second. Zonta would start his lap and over the lap would open out an advantage over team-mate Panis. He would move into first position with a time of 1m:21.520.

Mark Webber was next out in the second Jaguar. Despite losing time in the opening two sectors his final sector would help and he would cross the line with a 1m:21.602 to be second. Trulli would come out in the first of the Renaults. He was over half a second up on Zonta as he completed the second sector. His final sector would see him do enough to take provisional pole with a 1m:21.027.

Sauber's Felipe Massa was out next for his lap. He would make a mistake at the first chicane losing time, finishing his lap with a time of 1m:22.287 for sixth.

The next group of drivers would consist of Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Raikkonen, Coulthard, and Fisichella. With the crowd urging him on Barrichello would start his lap and he would be less than a tenth down on Trulli through sector one. But through the second sector Barrichello would pick up four tenths. His time would be a 1m:20.089 to see Rubens in provisional pole. Now it was Michael's turn. He would be a tenth up after sector one, but would lose time in the second. He would also make a small mistake at the Parabolica to finish with a time of 1m:20.637 to be half a second off Rubens pace.

Now it was Raikkonen who would challenge for pole. But it would all go wrong with a terrible second sector. He would be 0.6 behind Rubens time. Crossing the line he would set a time of 1m:20.877 to move into third. Team-mate Coulthard was next and he would lose time in the second sector to finish with a time of 1m:21.049 to be fifth. Fisichella in the second Sauber was the final driver of this group. His lap would see him finish with a time of 1m:22.239 to be a disappointing tenth.

The fourth and final group consisted of Alonso, Button, Sato, Pizzonia, and Montoya. Alonso would start his lap and was right on Barrichello's pace through Sector one, but would lose time in sector two. His lap time of 1m:20.645 would see him move into third. For Button, like so many others, he would see his lap ruined by a poor second sector. He would lose four tenths on Rubens time. He was able to pull back a small margin in the final sector to finish fourth with a time of 1m:20.786.

Sato was out in the second BAR. His lap would see him cross the line with a time of 1m:20.715 to grab fourth from his team-mate. Now it was down to just the BMW WilliamsF1 drivers Pizzonia and Montoya. Antonio would be close to Rubens time in the first sector but would have a very poor second sector losing 0.7. He would finish in a disappointing seventh with a time of 1m:20.888. Now it all came down to Juan Pablo and his final attempt to secure pole.

In the first sector Juan Pablo would set a time of 25.9 seconds to be a tenth up on Rubens. But in the second sector he could not match Rubens time losing 0.5. Juan Pablo would cross the line with a time of 1m:20.620 to be in second, splitting the two Ferrari's and having a front row starting position for Sundays race.