HOCKENHEIM, Germany, 3 August 2003 — Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya led a Williams 1-2 in qualifying for the German Grand Prix here yesterday when he claimed his first pole position of the season.
Montoya, who won his second race of his career in Monaco this year, set a time of one min 15.167 secs. His teammate Ralf Schumacher failed to beat him in the final run of the session.
Brazilian Rubens Barrichello finished third on a time of 1:15.488 with Italian Jarno Trulli, running late in the session, just failing to pip him and having to settle for fourth.
Finn Kimi Raikkonen, of McLaren, was fifth after going two hundredths of a second faster than world championship rival Michael Schumacher, who finished sixth in the second Ferrari.
The Toyota pair of Frenchman Olivier Panis and Brazilian Cristiano da Matta finished seventh and ninth, split by Spaniard Fernando Alonso in the second Renault, with Scot David Coulthard recovering from a practice crash to complete the top ten.
Formula One debutant Nicolas Kiesa was first out on track in the Minardi and he set a time of 1:19.174.
Canadian Jacques Villeneuve who was out next in his BAR-Honda having spun in the Friday session that decides the order for qualifying, clocked 1:17.090.
Dutchman Jos Verstappen failed to get close to Villeneuve but just beat new teammate Kiesa in 1:19.023. Giancarlo Fisichella, however, went top with a lap of 1:16.831 secs in his Jordan but was then beaten by Cristiano da Matta, in the Toyota, who almost spun as he exited the final corner.
Sauber’s German duo of Nick Heidfeld and Heinz-Harald Frentzen were next out and Heidfeld took fourth only for Frentzen to steal it from him. Briton Jenson Button slotted in behind them.
Scot David Coulthard then moved up to second in 1:16.666 that put him 0.116s behind da Matta, but Panis, in the second Toyota, then stole provisional pole by more than half a second.
World champion Schumacher was out next, heralded onto the circuit by the loud noise of air horns from the German crowd, and he moved to the top clocking 1:15.898.
His teammate Barrichello, however, immediately shattered that best time as he went four tenths of a second faster.
Briton Justin Wilson, on his debut for Jaguar, could not match his impressive performance in the Friday session, where he finished seventh fastest, and his time was only good enough for 10th with six drivers still to go.
Raikkonen, out next, put his McLaren between the two Ferraris into second and with Alonso, Webber failing to better Barrichello’s time and Trulli managing only second it was left to the Williams pair to fight it out for the honor of pole.
