BAR's Jenson Button grabbed the first pole position of his Formula One career this afternoon at the San Marino Grand Prix to end Michael Schumacher's run of qualifying dominance.
It was also BAR's first pole. Button lapped Ferrari's home circuit in one minute 19.753 seconds, the fastest time of the weekend, to pip six times world champion Schumacher by 0.258 of a second.
"Fantastic. The car's been running strong all weekend. I think we've done a good job, we really have," said Button, seeking his third podium in a row.
Schumacher had been on pole for the first three races of the season which he has also won. Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya was third fastest in a Williams and shares the second row of the grid with Ferrari's Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.
McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, yet to finish a race this season, will start from the back of the grid after yet another engine problem.
The Jordan's of Nick Heidfeld and Giorgio Pantano were 15th and 16th respectively.
1. Jenson Button (Britain) BAR one minute 19.753 seconds
2. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 1:20.011
3. Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) Williams 1:20.212
4. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari 1:20.451
5. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Williams 1:20.538
6. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:20.895
7. Takuma Sato (Japan) BAR 1:20.913
8. Mark Webber (Australia) Jaguar 1:20.921
9. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Renault 1:21.034
10. Cristiano da Matta (Brazil) Toyota 1:21.087
11. David Coulthard (Britain) McLaren 1:21.091
12. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Sauber 1:21.532
13. Olivier Panis (France) Toyota 1:21.558
14. Christian Klien (Austria) Jaguar 1:21.949
15. Giorgio Pantano (Italy) Jordan 1:23.352
16. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Jordan 1:23.488
17. Gianmaria Bruni (Italy) Minardi 1:26.899
18. Zsolt Baumgartner (Hungary) Minardi 1:46.299
19. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) McLaren no time
20. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Sauber no time