Massa the pole star again

He set his time of one minute 15.787 seconds with his last lap after world champion Raikkonen, a Monaco winner with McLaren in 2005, had moments earlier lapped in 1:15.815.

McLaren8217;s 23-year-old Briton Lewis Hamilton was third quickest on an all-McLaren second row with Finnish team mate Heikki Kovalainen.

Breaking the jinx

8220;I still cannot believe that I8217;m on pole,8221; said Massa, who now has a real chance of becoming the first Brazilian since the late Ayrton Senna in 1993 to win the season8217;s showcase race.

It was Ferrari8217;s first pole in Monaco since Michael Schumacher in 2000 and Massa8217;s task now is to become the team8217;s first winner since the German8217;s victory in 2001 and also to end a 29-year jinx.

The qualifying session, with grey skies threatening rain after showers overnight and in the morning, was a disappointment for Hamilton on a favourite track. He had set the fastest time in Thursday8217;s practice.

Red Bull8217;s David Coulthard crashed heavily towards the end of the second qualifying session as he emerged from the tunnel, the fastest point of the twisting street circuit where cars reach around 280 kph. Coulthard escaped unhurt and will start 10th alongside Australian team mate Mark Webber.

Force India form tail

Giancarlo Fisichella will start from the back of the grid, while his Force India team mate Adrian Sutil will join him in the last row at the 19th place. Fisichella had to change his gearbox following the morning practice session, which handed him a five grid place penalty.

Starting Grid

Monaco Grand Prix

1 Felipe Massa BRA Ferrari 1:15.787

2 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari 1:15.815

3 Lewis Hamilton GBR McLaren 1:15.839

4 Heikki Kovalainen FIN McLaren 1:16.165

5 Robert Kubica POL BMW Sauber 1:16.171

6 Nico Rosberg GER Williams 1:16.548

7 Fernando Alonso ESP Renault 1:16.852

8 Jarno Trulli ITA Toyota 1:17.203

9 Mark Webber AUS RedBull 1:17.343

10 David Coulthard GBR RedBull

11 Timo Glock GER Toyota 1:15.907

12 Jenson Button GBR Honda 1:16.101

13 Nick Heidfeld GER BMW Sauber 1:16.455

14 Kazuki Nakajima JPN Williams 1:16.479

15 Rubens Barrichello BRA Honda 1:16.537

16 Sebastien Bourdais FRA Toro Rosso 1:16.806

17 Nelson Piquet BRA Renault 1:16.933

18 Sebastian Vettel GER Toro Rosso 1:16.955

19 Adrian Sutil GER Force India 1:17.225

20 Giancarlo Fisichella ITA Force India 1:17.823