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Formula 1 News - March 2005
McLaren Mercedes

20 March: Malaysian Grand Prix - Race Report - McLaren Mercedes

West McLaren Mercedes driver Juan Pablo Montoya finished fourth in today's 56 lap Malaysian Grand Prix. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen's race was effectively over when a tyre valve failure on the outlap following his first pitstop caused the right rear tyre to fail and forced him back into the pits. He eventually finished ninth overall but set the fastest lap of the race on lap 22 with 1:35.483. Both drivers were on two stop strategies with Juan Pablo coming on laps 23 (8.504 seconds) and 43 (6.361 seconds) and Kimi on lap 24 (7.311 seconds) and 41 (7.112 seconds). Kimi also come in lap 44 to change his tyre (8.261 seconds). Juan Pablo is fifth in the 2005 Drivers' World Championship with eight points whilst Kimi is 12th with one point. West McLaren Mercedes is sixth in the Constructors' Championship with nine points.

Juan Pablo Montoya: "We scored some good points and getting from 11th to fourth is quite good, but obviously we want to win. The race itself was not too bad physically despite the heat. However quite early on I flatspotted my front left tyre, which not only put the car out of balance but also caused a lot of vibration which hampered my vision – things like this make it difficult to get the best out of the car."

Kimi Raikkonen: "A disappointing end to a race, which looked quite promising immediately after my first stop where I had gained two positions to take fourth. However early on during my outlap a tyre valve failure caused a puncture to the right rear, and I was forced to go almost a full lap in order to get back to the pits. My times during the race showed that I was able to go at the same speed as the leaders. I got past Felipe Massa and closed the gap to Christian Klien and Michael Schumacher, but when I got there it was too late for an attack."

Ron Dennis: "A challenging race for everybody. Juan Pablo struggled with a flatspotted tyre and Kimi's race was effectively destroyed when a tyre valve failed. It was disappointing not to be able to take advantage of the durability and pace of our Michelin tyres. On the positive side Kimi's fastest lap and Juan Pablo's fourth place despite his problems are a small but worthwhile consolation, and we are already looking forward to Bahrain. Congratulations to our partner Michelin for a dominant performance in such extreme conditions."

Norbert Haug: "Kimi achieved the fastest lap of the race and had the speed for a podium finish. The valve failure which damaged the tyre prevented this. The gap to the leaders stayed the same during the rest of the race. Juan Pablo scored five points and the team has showed that the reliability and speed are there. We are looking forward to the next races to transform these into good results."

2005 Malaysian Grand Prix - Main Page

Sunday Qualifying

West McLaren Mercedes drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya set times of 1:36.644 and 1:36.757 in today's second qualifying session at Sepang. The aggregate times mean that Kimi and Juan Pablo will start today's 56 lap race from sixth and 11th positions respectively. Both drivers completed their first qualifying yesterday with times of 1:32.839 (Kimi) and 1:33.333 (Juan Pablo). Kimi's aggregate time is 3:09.483 whilst Juan Pablo's is 3:10.090. Both qualifying sessions took place in hot and humid conditions.

Kimi Raikkonen: "I'm a little bit disappointed with my qualifying lap today. In contrast to yesterday I experienced some understeer and lost two grid positions. However it's a long and demanding race for both drivers and car, so let's see what happens."

Juan Pablo Montoya: "I made a small mistake at the high speed hairpin which cost me about two and half tenths. The second qualifying does reflect the race strategies of the different teams so we will have to wait and see. However even though we lost some positions compared to yesterday I still think we should be in with a good chance in the race."

Ron Dennis: "Hopefully our race result should be some what better than our final qualifying. We believe we have a strong race strategy so let's wait and see."

Norbert Haug: "It will be interesting to see the strategies in the race. We should be in good shape if we compare today's times with what we have experienced in Friday's and Saturday's practice sessions."

2005 Malaysian Grand Prix - Main Page

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