Monza (Italy), Sept 13: Juan Pablo Montoya continued to prove faster than reigning world champion Michael Schumacher in final practice session for the Italian grand prix today. The BMW-Williams driver from Colombia covered the 5.793-kilometer Monza circuit in 1 minute, 21.468 seconds. Schumacher was second fastest in his Ferrari in 1:21.586.
Heading into tomorrow's race, Schumacher holds a one-point lead ahead of Montoya in the driver's standings. Kimi Raikkonen, the McLaren-Mercedes driver from Finland, is two points behind "Schumi", as the local Italian fans call the German.
The second and final qualifying session for tomorrow's race was to be held later today.
Schumacher's younger brother Ralf Schumacher pulled out of the race this morning because he felt unfit from a crash in practice last week.
The BMW-Williams driver spent a night in a Milan hospital last week after his car flipped over during testing at the Monza circuit September 2. Schumacher left the hospital against doctors' advice.
Williams replaced Schumacher with the team's Spanish test driver Marc Gene.
Gene placed an impressive third in today's practice in 1:21.928. Raikkonen was fourth in 1:22.091. Bureau Report