Trulli surprised at front row spot

"I'm a little bit surprised to be this high on the grid because we have had so many problems over the weekend," he admitted.

The Roman pulled a blistering lap out of the hat, and was actually on provisional pole as the session entered its final eight minutes. He will start second, the best grid position of his Formula One career, though he had to settle for a place on the outside of the second row alongside championship leader Michael Schumacher.

It is the first time he has been inside the top five on the grid this year and betters his previous best start, third in Austria in 1997 with Prost.

"I expected to be in the top six - but not the front row. I'm really happy," he continued.

"The first day we I lost the first session and changed the front suspension completely.

"If you look at free practice you can see I was improving slowly in free practice but only very slowly - step by step, but this morning in practice things went very well and I thought I be in the top three rows.

"But not the front row, he added."

There was a chance he could have been even faster but for one quick lap destroyed by the infamous Monaco traffic.

"I lost two laps in the traffic with a BAR and a McLaren, I think, in my way, which I was little bit upset about.

"But I am getting more and more confident all the time with the car and the team."

For full qualifying results, click here