Montoya, who wrecked his car during Friday's practice, produced a blistering lap with slick tyres on a damp track.

With the circuit drying out, most teams opted to leave it as late as possible before trying for quick laps.

Montoya's lap finished after the end of the session but he had started his lap in time.

"We knew it was going to get drier and drier. And it really worked for our team."

Williams technical director Patrick Head added: "It was a brilliant job today from the team and drivers. No one could have done a better job with the information from the weather forecast."

Only Montoya's Williams team-mate Ralf Schumacher managed to get within a second of his time.

He said: "It was not an easy decision. It became fairly even overall. On the main line and on the straight it was already dry."

Ferrari's Michael Schumacher was satisfied with third despite having led for most of the last half of qualifying.

His time was one minute 54.685 seconds. Heinz-Harald Frentzen was fourth in 1:55.233 for his new Prost team.

Schumacher said: "It's a long race tomorrow so why be upset.

"The race is going to be a long way and it should be all right for us."

He admitted the Ferrari team had two different cars ready with different set-ups, one for the wet and one for the dry.

Teams reprieve

Schumacher had the best time early in the session when the conditions were wet.

The German, who has already clinched the world title, is seeking a record 52nd victory.

The Arrows of Jos Verstappen and Enrique Bernoldi and the Minardis of Fernando Alonso and Tarso Marques all finished outside the qualifying time limit.

But officials said that they would be allowed to race due to the problems caused by the weather.