Raikkonen is pipped to pole

Coulthard, who had been fastest in morning practice, was seen as the likely pole-sitter, but he slipped up and it was his Finnish team-mate who nearly landed the coveted front position on the grid at this narrow circuit after lapping in 1m15.295s to the Scot's 1m15.700s.

"To start from the front row in Monaco is very important," said Raikkonen, "so second is good and I'm looking forward to an exciting race. However, I'm a bit disappointed not to get pole as, like in Austria two weeks ago, I was extremely close, but I guess it will be my time sooner or later. In hindsight, perhaps I hit the kerb a bit too hard at the Swimming Pool chicane, so I lost some time there."

Team-mate Coulthard was left too rue some chassis adjustments: "I had a very good set-up during this morning's free practice when I was fastest. But then we made some adjustments after the warm-up which were intended to further improve the car for the race. Unfortunately, this caused some understeer and I also got it wrong at the Swimming Pool chicane which ruined my lap."

Mercedes motorsport director Norbert Haug was more upbeat: "That was a thrilling qualifying session, with Kimi missing pole by just 36 thousandths of a second. The fact that the first six drivers are within less than half a second means that we can expect a tough and close race. However, Kimi's front row position is a good basis for tomorrow, when strategy will be the key for winning the race."