Happy Montoya Optimistic of Victory

Juan Pablo Montoya is optimistic ahead of the Italian Grand Prix despite losing out to Michael Schumacher to his third consecutive pole position at Monza.

The Williams driver will start from second position after being unable to beat his rival's time on his flying lap in final qualifying. Montoya, who is one point behind Schumacher in the Championship, had set the fastest time in the opening qualifying session.

"I think that we're in a good position for tomorrow and it's going to be quite interesting," said Montoya, whose team lead Ferrari by eight points in the constructors' standings. "I think that having Marc [Gene] here is good for the Championship. He's done a really good job. Tomorrow we've got to do the best we can to try to keep that lead."

Montoya, who predicted his new Michelin tyres will be good enough to win the race, insisted that Ferrari could pay in Sunday's race after opting for speed over downforce.

"It was looking pretty good but then it didn't work out," he said. "But we'll wait until tomorrow. On a track like this you have a choice between speed and downforce and we will see who made the right choice when the race gets going. Michelin did a fantastic job. I'm very happy with that and hope we can beat them with these tyres."

Spaniard Marc Gene, stepping into Ralf Schumacher's Williams after the German was ruled out on medical grounds following his crash at Monza last week, qualified fifth for his first race since 2000. Gene starts alongside Renault's Italian Jarno Trulli on the third row.