DAVID COULTHARD walked away unhurt from a 180mph crash during qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix. The Scot hit a barrier on his right, with the force ripping off his right rear wheel. Thankfully, the right front wheel remained tethered to his Red Bull car — had it come off, it would almost certainly have hit the 37-year-old’s helmet. The car came to a halt when it hit a tyre wall. Coulthard had already qualified in 10th place.

If Ferrari had a weakness this season, Monaco was going to expose it, but the fact that the red cars of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen took the first two places in qualifying sent a chilling message to their rivals.

Having won the last four races, the Scuderia are the hot favourites to make it five on the trot, with perhaps only the prospect of rain offering McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton any real hope of passing them from third.

Last year, the design of their car meant Ferrari struggled to maintain pace around the tight corners and over the kerbs of the principality, and they were beaten out of sight by the McLarens of Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. The design of the 2008 car, and the way the team has worked to set it up, meant they were confident they would be more competitive this year, but this result must have exceeded even their wildest expectations.

Hamilton, who had been brimming with confidence throughout practice, was downcast afterwards, though he did his best to be positive. The contrast between his demeanour and that of Massa was marked. The Brazilian has made no secret of his dislike for the circuit, but perhaps he is beginning to understand its secrets. “I can’t believe I’m on pole,” he said. “Obviously I’m pushing hard, but I feel I am still learning how to drive here. Maybe I have picked up some tricks. My first lap was not a bad lap, though I was missing some time in some corners and knew I could improve — but I was thinking Kimi and Lewis could, too.

“I was able to do an almost perfect lap. In turn one I braked very late and got a very good exit as well, and knew it had to be like that in every corner, and I managed to do it.”

Hamilton thought his team had done a solid job, but admitted McLaren were surprised at Ferrari’s pace. “Both my laps were quite good, I had no problems with traffic, but the time just wasn’t there,” he said. “It’s a concern, but we’ll see what strategy they’re on. I’m not unhappy with ours, and conditions could change, so it could still be an exciting race.”

It may be that both Ferraris are carrying less fuel and will pit before Hamilton, but they are in position to control the first part of the race so effectively that one — probably Massa — will establish a gap, while the other ensures Hamilton cannot prevent the gap growing to unbridgeable proportions. The weather could be his salvation, with forecasters predicting the first wet race here since 1997.

For Massa as well as Ferrari, victory here would be hugely significant. In his sixth season as an F1 driver, he has been categorised as irredeemably inconsistent, capable of dominating on the sort of fast, flowing circuits he likes, but equally capable of throwing points away by making stupid mistakes on circuits that frustrate him. In fact after failing to finish either of the first two races of the season, there was serious talk that Ferrari would replace him. Since then he has won twice and finished second once, but few forecast his run of form could be maintained here. If it is, McLaren will know the season will be hard to retrieve. There was encouragement for Williams, Nico Rosberg’s sixth giving the British team their best qualifying performance of the season.