06 March: Australian Grand Prix - Race Report - McLaren Mercedes
Team McLaren Mercedes drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen finished the opening race of the 2005 season at Albert Park
in Australia in sixth and eight places respectively. Kimi stalled at the start which meant he had to start the 58-lap-race from the
pitlane. Both drivers were on a two-stop-strategy which saw Juan Pablo coming in on laps 23 (9.224 seconds) and 42 (7.404 seconds)
whilst Kimi came in on laps 25 (6.263) and 39 (9.019 seconds).
Juan Pablo Montoya "I'm pleased that we seem to
have the speed with the MP4-20 package, and I would have been able to finish higher up had things gone our way. I lost some valuable
time during my second stint as I was pushing really hard on the in-lap and got the rear tyre on the grass at Turn Eight. Later on
there was a misunderstanding with one of the Jordans which meant I was pushed off the track. Towards the end I slowed down to
conserve the package for Malaysia. After the race I have been told that I also had lost one of my deflectors which obviously
affected the overall speed and the handling of my car."
Kimi Raikkonen "The result might not show this but
we have the pace to challenge for victories, which is great. However today my race was really over when I stalled the car at the
start and had to begin my race from the pitlane. In the opening stages I was stuck behind Michael Schumacher which lost me some
time, but when I got past him in the first round of pitstops I was able to pick up speed again. However my deflector came off and
went underneath the car. The team removed it during my scheduled second pitstop but the loss obviously affected the handling of my
car in the closing stages. I really look forward to Malaysia where hopefully we should be able to get the result we believe we are
capable of and have some more consistent weather."
Ron Dennis "Juan Pablo's race was unfolding as expected
until he went on the grass. He also lost a deflector but if things had gone our way he would have finished on the podium. Kimi's
grand prix was effectively over after he stalled the car at the start. During the race he was hampered by the loss of a deflector
which subsequently jammed underneath the car. The positive outcomes of the opening race are the very good performance from our
Michelin tyres and that we had the pace to win and as a result are looking forward to Malaysia and the rest of the season."
Norbert
Haug "Kimi's speed was reasonable, however after having to start from the pitlane a better place than eighth was not
possible. Juan Pablo complained about handling problems in the last third of the race which we later discovered was due to a loss of
a deflector. Our starting positions - tenth and from the pitlane – didn't help to get a better result. After only 15 laps, Kimi
was already 40 seconds behind the leader and this was still the case after 58 laps."
Team McLaren Mercedes drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen set times of 1:29.320 and
1:30.561 in today's second qualifying session at Albert Park. Under the new regulations starting positions are determined by the
aggregate times and as a result Juan Pablo and Kimi will start today's 58 lap race from ninth and tenth positions respectively. Due
to both drivers completing their first qualifying yesterday in wet track conditions their times were 1:44.997 (Kimi) and 1:45.325
(Juan Pablo). Juan Pablo's aggregate time is 3:14.645 whilst Kimi's is 3:15.558. The second qualifying session took place in dry
circuit conditions.
Kimi Raikkonen "I had a bit of a scary moment when I went a bit wide at Waite and got on
the grass but managed to control the car and was able to finish the lap. However I lost a significant amount of time and Juan Pablo
managed to get in front of me."
Juan Pablo Montoya "A good lap but there was just too much time difference
after yesterday's qualifying to make a real impact. We are in front of both Ferraris and there is no doubt that it will be an
interesting race, but we have ground to make up."
Ron Dennis "Juan Pablo produced a good lap and Kimi's
was quick until he went a bit wide. However the gap to the front from yesterday's qualifying was too big to make any significant
improvement, but we are confident that we have a good race strategy."
Norbert Haug "Second qualifying took
place on a dry track on which Juan Pablo improved to ninth – two places higher up than yesterday. Unfortunately Kimi couldn't
better his grid position following a short moment."
