Heidfeld takes pole at Monaco

'It was a pretty big impact,' said the young German, who leads the series after winning the opening round of the championship in Imola.

'I hit the barrier square on and was able to drive back to the pits. The car was too badly damaged for me to have continued at racing speed, but fortunately by that stage I had already done enough to get pole.'

Heidfeld, who is chasing a Monaco Grand Prix weekend victory for the third successive year, does not believe there is any special secret to his success.

'We all have the same cars,' he said, 'and I can't put my finger on why I have done so well here in the past.

'I really enjoy street circuits, but tomorrow won't be easy. This is the toughest race of the year in terms of concentration.'

Gonzalo Rodriguez (Astromega), who managed not to hit the barrier when he spun at the end of his practice session, joins the West Lola driver at the front of the grid.

'As soon as I knew the car was gone I just concentrated on trying to get it stopped,' he said.

'There isn't much room to make mistakes in this place.'

Three of the four British drivers qualified for the race. The European Edenbridge Lolas of Jamie Davies and Oliver Gavin line up on row six - though Davies believes he could have challenged for pole.

'My best lap was ruined by another car,' he said. 'The computer shows I lost about four tenths of a second as a result, and that would have been enough to put me at the front. The car is fantastic but I just didn't get the breaks.'

Justin Wilson survived a spin at the chicane to qualify his now Benetton-sponsored Astromega Lola just behind his compatriots - but Imola runner-up Kevin McGarrity (Nordic) failed to make the cut after he ran over someone else's accident debris and picked up a puncture.

Others who failed to qualify included Heidfeld's team-mate, the reigning British F3 champion Mario Haberfeld.

Qualifying Times from Monaco

Even Numbers (First 13 qualify)