Length: 5.793 km
Number of Laps: 53 (306.720 Km)
Best Lap: R. Barrichello - 1'21''046 (2004, Ferrari)
Record Pole: R. Barrichello - 1'20''089 (2004, Ferrari)
2005 Pole: JP. Montoya - 1'21''054 (Mclaren)
2005 Podium: JP. Montoya - F. Alonso - G Fisichella

Q: How was the qualifying lap, your pole lap?
MS: It was clean. It was OK.

Q: Your thoughts going into the race with Kimi alongside you and Fernando behind you?
MS: Yeah, it’s better than having him beside, or in front, of me, so it’s a more ideal situation. I’m obviously happy for Nick to be up on the podium here today as well – another German fellow – and good as well for the position to start the race, so a lot of promising moments we have in front of us.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Michael, Kimi mentioned he made some mistakes and there are only two-thousandths in it at the end of qualifying, could you have gone quicker?
MS: Not really. No. But it is academic. What does it change?

Q: From the championship position, are you happy with second on the grid?
MS: Yes, if you look at the order where in particular Fernando is then it is not too bad for us.

Q: And with your team-mate ahead of him, too?
MS: Yes

Q: So you are feeling pretty confident, too?
MS: Absolutely.

Q: Has the talk of the announcement tomorrow been a distraction for you or have you managed to shut all that off?
MS: It’s absolutely not a story. It’s very clear. It has been very clearly communicated. So if it is at all a distraction it is to other people rather than to us.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR:

Q: (Matthias Brunner – Motor Sport Aktuell) For Kimi and Michael, did the rain last night affect the track and your tyre choice?
MS: Yes, it was obviously a bit more slippery this morning, so the rubber (that was) put down was taken away by the rain, but it went back up quickly and as to the tyre choice I think he is on Michelins and I am on Bridgestones....

Q: Your tyre choice..
MS: Oh, did it affect? Ah, sorry… No.

Q: (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Deutschland) Michael, at this stage of the championship any small thing can make the difference. Fernando lost some parts of his car after he had that puncture. Were you informed and what were your thoughts?
MS: I was informed, but that was it and I concentrated on myself.

Q: (Dieter Rencken - The Citizen) To all drivers, there have been suggestions about the safety standards of this circuit. What are your comments?
MS: We are not very happy on one particular point, which is the second chicane which we as drivers have felt for many years has not been up to the standards. There is a solution as we have been doing many years ago with the first chicane, which had the same problem. For whatever reason, other things get changed, but the main and worst particular item does not get changed. And yesterday at the GPDA meeting it was quite a discussion about it and we all felt very unhappy about it.

Q: (Matthias Brunner – Motor Sport Aktuell) Michael, very often start position three is preferable to P2. How is that usually at Monza?
MS: It’s true, but I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t have the past in my mind at the moment.