A near-perfect lap from Jarno Trulli earned the Italian pole position for tomorrow's Monte Carlo Grand Prix. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher will line up fourth with his team mate Rubens Barrichello in sixth. Â

'Although we talk endlessly about overtaking being nearly impossible at Monaco, we are still set for a good race tomorrow,' said Mike Copson of Shell Global Solutions. 'With two of the sport's most talented drivers behind the wheel and a Shell fuel that has been proved to be very flexible (Schumacher and Barrichello used different strategies in Imola) we are looking forward to see how Ferrari's race strategy pans out tomorrow against the opposition.' Â Â

'We will have to be as well prepared as possible to make the most of any opportunity that comes our way,' said Ross Brawn, Ferrari's Technical Director after the session. Â Â

In pre-qualifying, the two Ferrari cars finished up in 14th and 11th positions, meaning they were out for their second run and back into their garages with many of the field still to run. Michael was one and a half seconds quicker in the second qualifying session than he had been in the first and the same was true for Rubens who found an extra second in his timed second run. Â Â

Once the first six had been out on track, it was the turn of the Ferrari World Champion to show the show the quickest way around. His qualifying lap was 1.14.526, a good time by anyone's standard and enough to earn him provisional pole position. Rubens Barrichello, out shortly afterwards also had good lap, lapping only 0.6 seconds slower that Schumacher, and enough for a provisional second place on the grid. Â Â

Unfortunately, the red front row was short lived. Trulli was out soon after Barrichello and despite going slower than both Ferrari cars in the first sector, an excellent end of the lap saw him stop the clock nearly a half a second faster than Schumacher with a 1.13.985, the only lap in the 1.13's of the day. Â Â

Of course, the usual questions still hang in the air as to how much fuel each car is carrying, not just with Trulli, but also with Alonso, Button and Raikkonen who put their cars in the top six grid slots along with the Ferrari. It is only after the first few laps that we will really know the full extent of the car's fuel loads. Â Â

A mention should also be made of Ralf Schumacher's exploits this afternoon. His lap time was good enough for second on the grid, but his engine was changed yesterday afternoon and, given the new regulations, will bepenalised ten grid places, relegating him to 12th. Â Â

Trulli has pole with Button alongside. Alonso sits behind his team mate in third with Michael Schumacher in fourth. Rubens Barrichello is in sixth position, with Kimi Raikkonen sandwiched between the two. Â Â