Canadian Jacques Villeneuve and Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya proved competitive on both sides of the Atlantic.
Carl Edwards finished seventh, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Juan Pablo Montoya was a distant third for Williams, ahead of the Renaults of Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli.
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Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher claimed the third and fourth places, respectively.
Dennis said he was excited about the prospects of his new driver line-up of Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya.
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Juan Pablo Montoya was second fastest to book a spot on the front row while Jenson Button was third quickest.
The last time Williams won a grand prix was in 2004, when Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya drove to victory in Brazil.
But after crashing out foolishly in Monaco, Juan Pablo Montoya needs to learn his lines better around a completely foreign track.
Juan Pablo Montoya, who won in Monaco last month, was second for the second race in succession to underline Williams' resurgence.
Rubens Barrichello was third for Ferrari, with Juan Pablo Montoya fourth, and Britons Jenson Button and David Coulthard sixth and ninth.
The Williams pair of Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher bounced back from their disqualification in Canada to finish fifth and sixth.
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Williams, by contrast, are struggling after both their current drivers decided to leave, Juan Pablo Montoya for McLaren and Schumacher for Toyota.
Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya chased winner Michael Schumacher all the way in Malaysia on Sunday but had to settle for second place.
Schumacher has yet to agree a new deal with Williams, and Juan Pablo Montoya leaves them for McLaren at the end of the season.
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Juan Pablo Montoya slammed into a jet dryer in last year's race that caused a raging inferno that stopped the event for two hours.
The team have already signed Juan Pablo Montoya from Williams for 2005, and Finn Kimi Raikkonen is expected to stay on as his team-mate.
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Juan Pablo Montoya had set the early pace when he clocked 1:14:223 but soon saw a string of drivers better his time and eventually qualified ninth.
The only negative for McLaren was a problem with their refuelling equipment which led to Juan Pablo Montoya being forced to make an extra pit stop.
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Juan Pablo Montoya is set to leave Williams for McLaren at the end of the season, while Ralf Schumacher could be on his way out too.
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Schumacher's replacement as Juan Pablo Montoya's team-mate next year is nevertheless said by sources to be "under careful review", with Italian Giancarlo Fisichella high on the list.
Formula 3000 is the support series for Formula One at Grand Prix weekends and several top drivers, including Juan Pablo Montoya and Mark Webber have raced in it.
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Even more worryingly, McLaren's patience appears finally to have run out and they began what appear to have been fruitful talks about signing Juan Pablo Montoya for 2005.
Several contracts expire at the end of the 2004 season, including at BAR, where Button is bring linked with a return to Williams when Juan Pablo Montoya switches to McLaren.
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It was also a satisifying day for Pedro de la Rosa who, replacing the injured Juan Pablo Montoya, was the first out and produced a strong run in his McLaren.
Former test driver De la Rosa would seem to be in pole position, having filled in for McLaren since Juan Pablo Montoya left the team mid-season to join the American Nascar circuit.
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But he is still in second place, six points behind Raikkonen and two ahead of five drivers tied on eight points - Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya, Fernando Alonso, Jarno Trulli and Rubens Barrichello.
We've had a good run of races, today's going to be very hard work for Ralf and for his very energetic team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya who was on the fourth row of the grid.
His need for extra time away from the track reflects on the fierce battle he had with McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and the Williams-BMW of Juan Pablo Montoya before claiming his historic title in Suzuka.
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Officials shut down the race for nearly two hours after Juan Pablo Montoya careened into the back of a jet dryer that was being used to blow debris off the track during a caution flag.
Fellow Briton David Coulthard performed better in his Red Bull, squeezing into the final qualifying shoot-out to claim ninth, one behind of Pedro de la Rosa - who replaced axed McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya.
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