BELGIAN GP QUALIFYING 1 JP Montoya 1:46.391 2 K Raikkonen 1:46.440 3 G Fisichella 1:46.497* 4 J Trulli 1:46.596 5 F Alonso 1:46.760 6 R Schumacher 1:47.401 7 M Schumacher 1:47.476 8 F Massa 1:47.867 * = 10-place penalty All the action as it happened

The Colombian clocked one minute and 46.391 seconds around the Spa circuit to edge out Raikkonen by 0.049 secs.

Giancarlo Fisichella posted the third best time, but will start 13th after losing 10 spots for changing an engine.

That means his championship-chasing Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso is promoted to the second row alongside Toyota's Jarno Trulli.

The Spaniard, who is bidding to become Formula One's youngest ever world champion at 24, could only manage fifth after losing time in the middle section.

If Alonso gets four more points than Raikkonen in Belgium, he will claim the drivers' title with three races remaining.

The car behaved a little better than expected so that was good Juan Pablo Montoya

"I am pretty pleased with the position," said Alonso.

"Things seem closer between us and McLaren than they have been in the last few races, and although it will be very difficult to beat them, maybe it's not impossible.

"We need to concentrate on the race now, and do a perfect preparation to be able to fight at the front and keep the pressure on."

But it was Montoya who secured his second consecutive front-of-the-grid start, leading McLaren to their first front row lock-out since Imola 2001.

"I am pretty pleased," said Montoya. "In the last race I was lucky to get on pole because Kimi had a penalty but it was nice to get the first proper pole this year. It is good.

"The car worked well. On Friday, we had a problem and I couldn't do any running, the second session was washed out and the first we had to change the engine, but the car behaved a little better than expected so that was good."

There was some possibility to keep the same engine but at the end they decided to change it Giancarlo Fisichella on the engine-change penalty

But it was disappointment for Fisichella, despite finishing third fastest.

The Italian had been troubled with a problematic Renault engine all weekend but the team held out hope the unit would survive, avoiding the 10-place penalty which comes with a change.

However, they changed the engine before qualifying, fearing a valve problem would have ended Fisichella's race prematurely.

"There was some possibility to keep the same engine but unfortunately at the end they decided to change it," said Fisichella.

"I am a bit disappointed for that especially considering that I was pretty happy with my qualifying lap. But I have a good speed and I have a good potential to recover some positions."

This looks like a McLaren one-two at last From W Have your say on Five Live

Toyota's Ralf Schumacher will share the third row with brother Michael, the pair qualifying fifth and sixth respectively.

Sauber's Felipe Massa caused a surprise by taking seventh but Jenson Button's hopes of a second podium this season were hit by a disappointing lap in his BAR-Honda, leaving the Englishman starting eighth.

Team-mate Takuma Sato qualified two places behind Button, while Red Bull driver David Coulthard starts 11th.

At the back of the grid, Minardi were the resounding winners in their regular fight with Jordan to avoid Formula One's wooden spoon.

Qualifying times at the Belgian Grand Prix:

1. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) McLaren-Mercedes 1:46.391
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:46.440
3. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 1:46.497*
4. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:46.596
5. Fernando Alonso (Esp) Renault 1:46.760
6. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 1:47.401
7. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 1:47.476
8. Felipe Massa (Bra) Sauber-Petronas 1:47.867
9. Jenson Button (GB) BAR-Honda 1:47.978
10. Mark Webber (Aus) Williams-BMW 1:48.071
11. Takuma Sato (Jpn) BAR-Honda 1:48.353
12. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull 1:48.508
13. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Ferrari 1:48.550
14. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) Sauber-Petronas 1:48.889
15. Antonio Pizzonia (Bra) Williams-BMW 1:48.898
16. Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull 1:48.994
17. Robert Doornbos (Ned) Minardi 1:49.779
18. Christijan Albers (Ned) Minardi 1:49.842
19. Tiago Monteiro (Por) Jordan 1:51.498
20. Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) Jordan 1:51.675