19 April: Alex Wurz to replace Juan Pablo Montoya at the San Marino Grand Prix
Team McLaren Mercedes today announced that Test Driver Alex Wurz will race in San Marino replacing the injured Juan Pablo Montoya
who is still recovering from his shoulder injury. The team confirmed that Montoya has undergone a number of tests and scans this
week and the doctors have advised that while the healing process is well advanced, the need to keep the shoulder immobilised has
naturally led to some minor muscle atrophy. The expectation is that Montoya will be back in action in time for the Spanish Grand
Prix on 8th May 2005.
Alex Wurz "I am really happy to have the opportunity to race MP4-20 this coming weekend
at Imola. Since joining the team at the end of 2000, I have completed over 70,000 testing kilometres and it will be great to have
the chance to actually race a Team McLaren Mercedes car. I am looking forward to getting back to competitive action and hope I can
secure a good result for the team. It goes without saying that I wish Juan Pablo a very speedy recovery."
Martin
Whitmarsh, CEO Formula One, Team McLaren Mercedes "It is disappointing that Juan Pablo is not yet fully recovered from
the injury he sustained to his shoulder on 26th March, however it is imperative that his shoulder heals properly to ensure no
additional risk. We will assess the situation again next week but at this stage we are optimistic he will return for the Spanish
Grand Prix as the shoulder is healing well. As Alex is now fully comfortable in the MP4-20, we have taken the decision that he will
deputise for Juan Pablo at Imola. We are in the fortunate position of having two very experienced and very competitive drivers in
Alex and Pedro. In addition they are both good guys and great team players and we felt it appropriate and fair to provide them both
with the opportunity to race."
Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorpsort "Juan Pablo will have
to miss the San Marino Grand Prix as he still has to recover from his shoulder injury, which is taking longer than initially
predicted. I am convinced that Alex will do a competent job. He really deserves this race and he will have our full support. Alex
has covered more than 1700 kilometres in the MP4-20 since he first ran the car during Friday's free practices at Bahrain. He and
Kimi will be efficiently supported by Pedro who will be our third driver to drive the MP4-20 on Friday."
