10 July: British Grand Prix - Race Report - McLaren Mercedes
Juan Pablo Montoya won today's British Grand Prix at Silverstone to claim his first victory for Team McLaren Mercedes and his
fifth in Formula One. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen finished the 60-lap race in third position and set the fastest time of the race on
the final lap. Both drivers were on two-stop strategies. Juan Pablo came in for fuel on laps 22 (8.8 seconds) and 44 (6.6 seconds),
whilst Kimi pitted on laps 26 (8 seconds) and 45 (6 seconds). Kimi remains second in the Drivers' World Championship with 51 points
whilst Juan Pablo is sixth with 26 points. Team McLaren Mercedes is second in the Constructors' rankings with 87 points.
KIMI
RAIKKONEN "I think I did the best I could today, and we can leave Silverstone with two podium finishes. If I had not had
the problems yesterday and lost 10 grid positions, the result would have been different, but that is motor racing. However we lost
only two points in the Championship battle and hopefully we can challenge for victory at the remaining races. During the race I lost
a lot of time behind other cars. It's so difficult to get close in the fast corners as you just lose all grip. When I got past
Michael and Trulli in the pitstops it was too late and the gap to the front was too big. There is no doubt that we have the speed as
I was able to set the fastest time of the race on the last lap, so I look forward to Hockenheim where hopefully we should have an
'uneventful' weekend."
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA "It's a great feeling winning my first Grand Prix for Team
McLaren Mercedes. My start was perfect, and I managed to get by Fernando in a wheel-to-wheel dice after the second corner. I was
really going for it and knew that he had more to lose than me – I just wanted to win the race. It was then all about staying ahead
and our strategy combined with two excellent pit stops really helped me to manage that. The team did a great job particularly
calling me in one lap early for my first pitstop to avoid traffic, which was the right decision and meant I gained an advantage to
Fernando. However, it was not an easy race as Fernando put me under a lot of pressure until the very end. I'm relieved to have won
my first race of the year especially as it was the home Grand Prix of McLaren and a lot of the people from the Technology Centre and
Mercedes-Benz at Brixworth were here cheering."
RON DENNIS "I think today's results speak for themselves.
An outstanding performance from Juan Pablo who worked hard to generate sufficient gap to Alonso prior to his final stop to ensure
his race victory, which of course he achieved. Kimi's third place reflects his poor starting position resulting from a penalty he
suffered following an engine change on Saturday. Nevertheless he set fastest lap and with 80 points available mathematically both
drivers still have the opportunity to challenge for the Championship."
NORBERT HAUG "A fantastic race and
a great day for all the team members which saw Juan Pablo's first victory for the team. His start was exceptional, and he did not
put one foot wrong during the race. Our race strategy was good. Kimi's speed throughout the race was impressive, and he finally
achieved the fastest lap of the race on his very last lap. Kimi lost two points to Alonso in the championship. Without the engine
change yesterday he could certainly have achieved a better result, so again, sorry for that, we will try even harder. We are now
looking forward to our home Grand Prix at Hockenheim.
