22 May: Monaco Grand Prix - Race Report - McLaren Mercedes
West McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen won the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix in dominant form never once losing the lead in the
78-lap race after starting from pole position. Today's race was also the 200th Grand Prix for Mercedes-Benz. It's the Finn's fourth
Formula One victory and his first in Monaco. This is the 13th victory for McLaren in the Principality which is more than any other
team. The most recent win for the West McLaren Mercedes team was in 2002 (David Coulthard). Juan Pablo Montoya finished the race in
fifth place having started from 16th position on the grid. Both drivers were on one-stop-strategies which saw Kimi coming in on lap
42 (10.5 seconds) whilst Juan Pablo did his refuelling stop on lap 46 (9.5 seconds). Kimi has moved to second in the Drivers' World
Championship with 27 points whilst Juan Pablo is eighth with 14 points. West McLaren Mercedes moved to second in the Constructors'
Championship with 51 points.
KIMI RAIKKONEN "This is great. To win is always fantastic, but Monaco is a special
challenge. We have been strong throughout the weekend and I was able to pretty much control the race. I was able to push and open up
a considerable gap, and when the time was right I simply came into the pits, refuel and still rejoin the race in the lead. After
that I could take it a bit easier and look after the car and the Michelin tyres. Once again thank you to the entire team and
everybody at Michelin. We have worked hard, and I think we have the best package out there at the moment. Our World Championship
battle has gained momentum today. We will take one race at a time and continue to do our best,"
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA "I
think we made the best out of our situation and scored some important points for the team and me. I was so close to getting past
Fernando Alonso on the last couple of laps but had to settle for fifth position as I did not want to risk too much. My car was
working very well, and without a starting position on the back of the grid a place on the podium would have been possible. I gained
a lot of places at the start and had a few battles in the race with Massa, Rubens and Trulli which kept me pretty busy.
Congratulations to Kimi on his victory. I have won this race once and know how special it is to claim victory in Monaco."
RON
DENNIS "A tremendous result for the team. Kimi drove an absolute faultless race coping well with the need to pace
himself to not only conserving the car but of course also the tyres. The safety car deployment caused minor confusion with our
strategists working to double-check the data before making the final call on whether to bring Kimi into the pits or not. Clearly
they were right and the outcome obvious. Juan Pablo had an impressive drive through the field which coupled with our strategy gave
him a well deserved fifth place. A special mention to our Partner Michelin who clearly gave us the best tyres today.
NORBERT
HAUG "A race with thrills and excitement. A fantastic performance by Kimi and Juan Pablo and an excellent job by the
entire team. Our strategy was ideal and Kimi extended his lead to over half of a minute and was able to look after the car and the
Michelin tyres. With his fifth place overall; Juan Pablo made the best out of his 16th starting position on the grid. We now look
forward to next weekend's race at the Nürburgring which is the first of two Mercedes-Benz home Grands Prix"
West McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen will start today's Monaco Grand Prix from pole
position. This is Kimi's third consecutive pole position and the sixth of his career. The last time a West McLaren Mercedes driver
had pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix was in 2001 (David Coulthard). Kimi's aggregate time was 2:30.323. Juan Pablo Montoya
didn't take part in the qualifying session as he will have to start today's 78-lap race from the back of the grid following the
decision by the stewards yesterday.
KIMI RAIKKONEN "I'm obviously pleased to be on pole position for the Monaco
Grand Prix where it matters more than most places. The car is working well and due to the gap from yesterday's qualifying session we
have been able to adopt what will hopefully prove to be a strong race strategy. There is still a long race to go and as Monaco has
shown in the past anything can happen here, but so far so good, and I'm looking forward to the race."
JUAN PABLO
MONTOYA "It goes without saying that we are disappointed with the decision by the Stewards yesterday. However there is
nothing we can do but to get on with the race where we will do our best to score some points. Although we have a strong package as
Kimi's performance has shown I know that my race will be hard work."
RON DENNIS "A satisfactory outcome to
a qualifying session which reflected what we believe to be a strong race strategy. The decision to conserve the Michelin tyres and
fuel on Juan Pablo's car was the logical step following yesterday's announcement by the Stewards."
NORBERT HAUG "An
excellent performance by Kimi achieving his third consecutive pole position. We expect our strategy to be very good. It's a shame
for Juan Pablo to be at the wrong end of the grid due to the decision by the Stewards. Anyway he will give it everything to get into
the points."
