Monty predicts weather chaos

The low downforce high-speed nature of the Monza circuit makes it one of the most dangerous in wet conditions and, after several hours of constant rain, it is looking increasingly likely that the race will officially be declared wet.

Montoya, who starts alongside pole position man Juan Pablo Montoya, believes that a damp but drying track would be great fun - but is fearful if the rain does not stop.

"If the track is damp and if you manage to keep it on the asphalt then there will be quite a few interesting laps," he said. "If it is completely wet then we will have to start behind the Safety Car but if it is damp then we will be okay. I think it would actually be quite cool.

"But the first corner could be trouble. Wherever you are it may be better to go straight on and give your place back to whoever manages to come out of the first corner."

Although a wet race will require completely different settings to the dry qualifying sessions, Formula 1's regulations severely limit the teams as to what they can actually change.

Modifications will be allowed to the front wing and the teams will be allowed to fit wet weather tyres, and also alter brake cooling and radiator exit ducts.

FIA president Max Mosley did suggest earlier in the weekend, however, that if the teams agreed that conditions were dangerous then further changes may be allowed.

"It would really be left to the people who have to decide, taking into account all the circumstances," he said. "The only thing one can say is that if it were dangerous we would not start the race - just like if there were a monsoon on the circuit where there were three inches of water.

"You have to deal with these things as they arise but we've always, so far - I can think of one exception - been able to deal with these things when they arose."

It is thought that Mosley may have been referring to last year's Brazilian Grand Prix when the teams were forced to race on shallow wet tyres which were unsuitable for the wet conditions because of a change in regulations introduced at the start of that season.