Albert Park, Melbourne, Sunday 2nd April 2006
Kimi Raikkonen MP4-21 02
Juan Pablo Montoya MP4-21 03
T-car (Juan Pablo) MP4-21 01
2006 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
Team McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen finished today's
Australian Grand Prix in second place, only 1.8 seconds behind
race winner Fernando Alonso. Kimi also set the fastest lap
of the race with 1:26.045 on the very last lap. Juan Pablo
Montoya was forced to retire from fourth place on lap 46 when
the Colombian hit the kerb so severely that the engine's safety
system was activated. The 57-laps Grand Prix was incident
filled and saw the Mercedes Benz Safety Car deployed four
times on laps 1-3, 7-9, 34-38 and 38-40. Kimi had his pitstops
on laps 21 (9.388 seconds) and 34 (16.306 seconds), whilst
Juan Pablo came in on laps 18 (9.369 seconds) and 34 (11.303
seconds). In Kimi's second pitstop, which took place during
the third Safety Car period, the team also changed his front
wing. Kimi is now joint second in the Drivers' Championship
with 14 points whilst Juan Pablo is sixth with nine points.
Team McLaren Mercedes remains second in the Constructors'
standings with 23 points. The next race will be the San Marino
Grand Prix at Imola in Italy on 23rd April but the Team McLaren
Mercedes test team will be back in action at Paul Ricard in
France next week and in Barcelona the following week.
KIMI RAIKKONEN
"Despite not winning I'm really pleased as we now have
a package which is level with the Renaults which I think we
demonstrated today. The race was rather hectic. I enjoyed
a good battle with Juan Pablo at the start, but when I overtook
Jenson I flatspotted my right front tyre which caused some
vibration. However I was still able to go flat out and keep
up with Fernando, but then all of a sudden the footplate on
the right hand side of my front wing fractured probably due
to the vibration. As a result I started to have severe understeer
and lost a lot of time to Fernando. Fortunately with 21 laps
to go the Safety Car came out which gave us enough time to
go into the pits and change the front wing. I was really pushing,
but in the final Safety Car period one of the Midland cars
was between Fernando and I, which meant I was unable to get
really close to have a go. An enjoyable race and I can't wait
for Imola. The team has definitely made great progress with
our entire package."
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA
"There was a lot going on in the race today. As we were
lining up on the grid I made a mistake and spun the car. Fortunately
the start was aborted, and I was able to take up my original
start position in fifth spot. However during the first Safety
Car period I had another spin which cost me two positions.
Overall I found it rather challenging getting the grip into
the tyres today and the four Safety Car periods didn’t
make it easier. I think I could have finished on the podium,
but as I was pushing to get past Ralf I hit the kerb at the
start of the straight and went into a bit of a wobble but
managed to save it. Unfortunately the impact activated a default
system which switched off the engine and that was the end
of my race. It’s a real shame as our package felt fantastic
throughout the weekend. We can definitely go into the start
of the European season with lots of confidence."
RON DENNIS
"The early part of the race was exciting as once Kimi
was past Button, he had the pace to catch Fernando. Juan Pablo's
retirement was caused by the activation of the engine safety
system following a severe impact on the kerb clearly costing
him third place. Kimi's race was disrupted by a flatspotted
tyre obtained whilst passing Button resulting in severe vibration
that led to a failure of the right hand front wing endplate.
Towards the end of the race we took advantage of one of the
Safety Car deployments to change the nose which gave Kimi
the ability to close the gap to Fernando. It was also disappointing
that both Kimi and Juan Pablo were trapped behind slower cars
in two of the re-starts but at the end of the day we have
the pace to win and this time last year our points deficit
was significantly greater. As a team we look forward to returning
to Europe and continuing the battle."
NORBERT HAUG
"Kimi gave it his all. Unfortunately he was hampered
by a flatspotted tyre and a damaged part of the front wing.
Once the nose was changed he demonstrated good speed. Juan
Pablo hit a kerb too hard which caused his retirement. Our
technical package is on a good level both with regards to
speed and reliability, and now we have to improve our performance
further during the next few races."
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