MOTOR SPORT / Italian Grand Prix: A tale of two champions, writes Justin Hynes at Monza.

A tale of two outcomes in the balance. Yesterday, Michael Schumacher got some indication of the intensity of the battle awaiting him over the coming weeks as Juan Pablo Montoya raced to a sixth-tenths of a second lead over the defending title holder in first qualifying ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.

Schumacher, with his sinking championship chances slightly buoyed by a successful protest of Michelin tyres - which required the French company to rethink it's tyre construction in a disastrously short space of time - would have been forgiven for entering yesterday's first qualifying session thinking that his dominance of arch-rivals Williams in testing at the Milanese circuit last week would translate to the heat of real competition.

But within moments of the Ferrari driver, setting his time of 1:21.268, Montoya - just a point behind in the title race - thundered across the start finish line in 1:20:656.

Six tenths. Just enough time to blink. Just enough time to register the Colombian's name flashing to the top of the electronic timesheet. A difference enough to gain Montoya a couple or more grid spots in this afternoon's grid-determining session.

Enough time, over 53 race laps, to potentially leave Montoya with a 31-second advantage over the champion. In the blink of an eye lies the potential for gulfs to open.

Further away, emerging wearily from the BAR motorhome, shoulders slumped, Jacques Villeneuve was asked to comment on yesterday's rumour that he may be replaced at BAR for the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix by the team's Honda-powered mascot, test driver Takuma Sato. Another future in question.

"There's always a little truth in these things, but thinking about the interests of certain people within the team, well, it wouldn't surprise me," sighed the former champion, the memory of the thrilling, take-no-prisoners carnage of his successful battle with Schumacher for the 1997 title, just that - a memory, sepia-toned and forgotten.

"It's not in the plans, well I don't think it is anyway. Nothing would surprise me, though."

And what does it mean for next year? A small shrug, a wry smile.

"That it would surprise me even less (if Sato was driving). Right now, I'm working on next year and, unless I hear something different, that's what I'll keep doing."

And the talks go on. Villeneuve's manager Craig Pollock still batting for him at a team that has written off a driver whose opportunity to shine has been undelivered by the team for five long years.

"Craig and David (Richards, team boss) had a chat yesterday, there's nothing concrete yet, there's just will more than anything right now. I've no idea if I can be optimistic yet.

"It's a very difficult situation, so I really have no idea, it's all out there and nothing. . . actually, it's hard to find logic in the paddock lately so it's difficult to know what you're playing with."

At least at the front end of the grid, the logic is more defined.

Or maybe not.

The Michelin/Bridgestone war simmers on, with Ferrari's technical director Ross Brawn saying the team was still reserving its option of protesting early season races because of what it believes is an infringement of tyre tread regulations by Michelin.

To which Williams' technical director Patrick Head responded with doom-laden prophecy, that such a course of action would be disastrous for Formula One, reducing the finest championship for years to "the casino of the courtroom".

But until such prophecies come to pass, Schumacher, Montoya and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, who sits another single point adrift of the leading pair and who finished fifth yesterday, have only the track to wage war on. And yesterday Montoya won the first skirmish.

"Before qualifying I wasn't sure what the car was going to do but it ran as expected, which means we did a good job," said the Colombian.

"We were quick in last week's test here, which makes us confident for the rest of the weekend and we should perform better again tomorrow when the track is cleaner. It's obviously ideal to be ahead of Michael and Kimi, but what counts is tomorrow (Saturday)."

And Schumacher agreed, spinning his half-second deficit into a place at least in the last quarter of today's grid-determining hour.

"The fact that I was first out on track was certainly not an advantage today," he said. "I'm happy with the time I set and the position from which I'll tackle tomorrow's qualifying session. Now we have to see how competitive we are against our rivals."

The answer will become clearer this afternoon.