David Coulthard conjured up a stunning late lap to snatch the vital pole position for tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix.
The 30-year-old Scot took his first pole in Monte Carlo in the dying seconds of the qualifying session to thwart title rival Michael Schumacher.
Coulthard, who trails Ferrari's world champion by four points, finished 0.2 seconds ahead of the German who must have thought he had bagged his sixth pole in seven races this season.
Schumacher was unable to respond after being forced to park-up his car in a run-off area when he still had one lap left.
Coulthard's McLaren team-mate Mika Hakkinen was third fastest with Rubens Barrichello fourth in the other Ferrari.
Ralf Schumacher took fifth spot in the Williams BMW while Eddie Irvine was an excellent sixth fastest for Jaguar Racing - the first time he has qualified in the top 10 this season.
The Jordans didn’t do well today as others improved around them. Trulli finished in 8th placed while Frentzen could only manage 13th.
PA