Saturday First Free Practice - Italian GP

World Champion Michael Schumacher continued his Italian domination as he set the pace in Saturday's opening practice session at Monza in front of tifosi.

The Ferrari driver set a best lap time of 1:22.110 as he went marginally quicker than Williams-BMW driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

David Coulthard put a disappointing Friday behind him as he set the third best time in the session, while his McLaren-Mercedes teammate Kimi Raikkonen was fourth in the times.

Williams-BMW's Ralf Schumacher was fifth quickest as Michelin runners enjoyed a positive session with Jaguar duo Eddie Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa sixth and seventh respectively.

Brazilian Felipe Massa set the eighth best time for Sauber, while Toyota's Allan McNish and British American Racing's Jacques Villeneuve completed the top ten.

Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello endured more misfortune as he lost time during the session following an engine failure. The Brazilian ended the session 19th after his engine failed at the Curva Grande, which caused the session to be halted temporarily until the marshals moved the car out of the way.

Jacques Villeneuve parked his British American Racing car at Lesmo with seconds remaining in the session after technical problems.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:22.110 253.548 km/h 13 2. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:22.135 + 0.025 12 3. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:22.663 + 0.553 12 4. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:22.899 + 0.789 17 5. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:22.938 + 0.828 13 6. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:23.037 + 0.927 11 7. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:23.444 + 1.334 13 8. Massa Sauber Petronas (B) 1:23.475 + 1.365 15 9. McNish Toyota (M) 1:23.621 + 1.511 13 10. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:23.668 + 1.558 13 11. Trulli Renault (M) 1:23.712 + 1.602 13 12. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:23.746 + 1.636 13 13. Fisichella Jordan Honda (B) 1:23.777 + 1.667 16 14. Salo Toyota (M) 1:23.823 + 1.713 12 15. Button Renault (M) 1:24.204 + 2.094 13 16. Panis BAR Honda (B) 1:24.325 + 2.215 15 17. Sato Jordan Honda (B) 1:24.344 + 2.234 16 18. Webber Minardi Asiatech (M) 1:25.292 + 3.182 16 19. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:26.095 + 3.985 4 20. Yoong Minardi Asiatech (M) 1:26.112 + 4.002 17 All Timing Unofficial