Montoya Hopes Luck Will Change at Nurburgring

Juan Pablo Montoya revels in overtaking Michael Schumacher but on Sunday he hopes he will not need to pass the German to win for the first time this season.

Montoya took the pole position for Sunday's European Grand Prix at qualifying on Saturday, snatching it away from his Williams teammate Ralf Schumacher and sending his main German rival at Ferrari into the second row.

It was Montoya's third consecutive pole position and fourth in nine races this season. The feisty Colombian hopes that, after two blown engines ruined his last two races, good fortune will finally start going his way on the Nurburgring on Sunday.

"Michael's been lucky," said the 26-year-old Montoya, who as a rookie boldly passed Schumacher in just his third race and has thrived on a number of spectacular duels with the four-times champion.

"He's had two blown engines in warm-ups and then goes on to win two races," Montoya said. "When luck is going your way, you're going to win races."

The Colombian said he was surprised to win the pole for the 75th anniversary race of the Nurburgring, saying he figured he was actually competing for a spot in the second or even third row behind Ferrari and McLaren.

"It's a matter of luck and I've got to say I was very lucky to get it," he said.

Last-Minute Adjustments

After watching Ralf Schumacher cover the circuit in a magnificent time of 1:29.915 towards the latter stages of qualifying, Montoya saw little hope of beating him.

"When Ralf did that time I said to everyone, 'Hey come over here, we're done'," Montoya said. "They said 'no, no wait, we can make some changes'."

Montoya then beat Ralf Schumacher by nine thousandths of a second and Michael Schumacher ended up third, 129 thousandths of a second behind.

"It's not difficult to make up seven-tenths of a second in qualifying," Montoya said. "A little change here and there."

Montoya said he was more concerned about a challenge from behind by Michael Schumacher, but said he and Ralf Schumacher had no plans to discuss any front-row strategy.

Michael Schumacher leads the Championship with 70 points while Montoya and Ralf Schumacher are tied for second with 27 points, a massive 43 behind. McLaren's David Coulthard, fifth in the grid on Sunday, is in fourth with 26 points.

"Michael is miles ahead in points, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up," Montoya said.

Asked if beating Schumacher in front of his home fans would be more special than winning on another circuit, Montoya said: "To win here would be pretty good."

He said he believed Ferrari would not be as dominant in the months ahead as they have been in the first half of the season.

"The gap has closed," he said. "I think the biggest factor at the moment is tyres. We have the better quality tyres."

Had he not been forced to retire from the last two races at Monaco and Montreal the Championship would be closer, Montoya said.

"If I had good results I would have 16 points more," he said.

Schumacher's lead could be further narrowed next week when the sport's governing body, the FIA, meets to investigate the controversial finish of the Austrian Grand Prix. Schumacher won the race only after Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello was forced by team orders to relinquish the lead just before the finish line.

Some media reports have said Schumacher could be stripped of the ten points he picked up at Spielberg because, amid a chorus of boos and whistles, he declined to step up onto the victor's podium, pushing Barrichello there instead.

"I don't have any opinion on that," Montoya said. "We don't have team orders. If we're racing, we're racing."