MONACO GRID POSITIONS 1 J Trulli (Renault) 1:13.985 2 J Button (BAR) 1:14.396 3 F Alonso (Ren) 1:14.408 4 M Schumacher (Fer) 1:14.516 5 K Raikkonen (McL) 1:14.592 6 R Barrichello (Fer) 01:14.716 7 T Sato (BAR) 1:14.827 8 D Coulthard (McL) 01:14.951 R Schumacher second but drops 10 places for engine change Full qualifying times More qualifying photos

Trulli put in a scorching lap of one minute 13.985 seconds in the Renault to edge out BAR's Jenson Button.

Fernando Alonso will start third in the other Renault with the Ferraris of Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello split by Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren.

BAR's Takuma Sato qualified seventh and McLaren's David Coulthard eighth.

Williams driver Ralf Schumacher clocked the second best time of the session but was demoted 10 places to 12th on the grid after being forced to change his engine on Thursday.

With overtaking on Monaco's street circuit notoriously difficult, Michael Schumacher's fourth place dented his chances of continuing his five-race unbeaten start to the season.

Schumacher blames track

The six-time world champion's domination had looked set to continue after he finished top of the timesheets in the morning's two practice sessions.

But an untidy lap in pre-qualifying saw him finish 14th fastest and gave him an early running position in the final session.

It left him facing an uphill battle to claim his first Monaco pole since 2000 with the track expected to get faster as the session went on.

It is going to be a tough race but for now at least I have a little something special Jarno Trulli More qualifying reaction

He improved his time by 1.411secs with a flawless lap to put pressure on his rivals.

Juan Pablo Montoya was the first to fail as he could only clock 1:15.039 in the Williams, giving him a final grid position of ninth.

But Trulli turned in a brilliant lap which the Italian's team-mate Alonso could not match.

Sato was fastest over the first sector but locked his wheels after clipping the kerb as he exited the tunnel and had to settle for seventh.

Having set the best time in pre-qualifying, Ralf Schumacher went into his lap knowing his engine change penalty had ruined his victory chances for Sunday's race.

But he followed up his pole position from last year by going second fastest, 0.360secs slower than Trulli.