Ferrari caught out by Williams

The Italian cars looked comfortable quicker than the BMW-powered FW24s during the free practice sessions on Saturday morning. But in qualifying, Juan Pablo Montoya was able to take his third pole position in a row, with team-mate Ralf Schumacher joining him on the front row.

"I have to say I am surprised at the performance of Williams," said Barrichello, who qualified fourth behind his team-mate Michael Schumacher. "But I am still in a good position for the race. I am confident for tomorrow, as we have often shown that we are very competitive in race trim."

Schumacher was forced to switch to the spare car because of a transmission problem on his first run, and it took time to find a good balance when he did get in a run.

"We have started in worse situations, so I will just have to deal with it," Schumacher said. "I am not worried about losing position to the McLaren's behind me."

David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen will start fifth and sixth in their Mercedes-powered cars.