SAN MARINO GRAND PRIX
Imola, Italy,
Kimi Raikkonen MP4-21 02
Juan Pablo Montoya MP4-21 01
Team McLaren Mercedes driver Juan Pablo Montoya finished
today's San Marino Grand Prix in third place, 15.8 seconds
behind race winner Michael Schumacher. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen
came home in fifth place. Juan Pablo made his pit stops on
laps 23 (7.7 seconds) and 44 (7.5 seconds). Kimi was also
on a two-stop-strategy and pitted on laps 22 (8.6 seconds)
and 47 (6.6 seconds). The Mercedes-Benz Safety Car was deployed
for one lap after the first couple of corners following an
incident between Christian Albers and Yuji Ide. Kimi is now
third in the Drivers' Championship with 18 points. Juan Pablo
has 15 points and is fifth with the same points score as Giancarlo
Fisichella. Team McLaren Mercedes remains second in the Constructors'
rankings with 33 points. The team will test at the Silverstone
Circuit in England this coming week with both Kimi and Juan
Pablo in action as well as test driver Pedro de la Rosa in
preparation for the next round of the 2006 Formula One World
Championship at the Nürburgring.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA
"I'm pleased with today's race and that we managed to
get a podium position and some important Championship points.
I made a good start off the line but was squeezed by traffic
going into the first chicane and had to lift in order to avoid
an incident. I then got stuck in traffic which cost me some
time. I think it was clear as the race progressed that we
had qualified on quite a heavy fuel load, but we were really
able to take advantage of our strategy during the race. The
guys did a great job in the pit stops which helped, but once
I was in clear air the leaders were already about 13 seconds
ahead, and it was too late for me. The focus was then just
to bring the car back and get third place and some points.
Everybody has been working hard for the past couple of weeks,
and I think we have definitely made some progress with our
package, I can't wait for the rest of the season and hopefully
winning some races soon."
KIMI RAIKKONEN
"I was not entirely happy with my car today and wasn't
able to really go for it. My start was not very good and I
lost a couple of positions, and then traffic hampered my progress
during the first half of the race. After the second stop the
car improved quite a bit and became easier to drive and I
could start pushing again. However I got stuck behind Felipe
Massa and to overtake here at Imola is virtually impossible
as we could see in the race today. We can leave Imola with
some points which is important and I now look forward to the
next race in Germany."
RON DENNIS
"Juan Pablo had a relatively uneventful race. He made
a good start but lost of some the advantage when he was squeezed
coming into the first corner. However his strategy unfolded
well and a fully deserved third place. Kimi's race was badly
influenced by a rare mistake in qualifying which cost him
some grid positions and was further compounded by him not
making a particularly good start. However he drove in a disciplined
manner to pick up valuable points for himself and the team.
We could have raced a little harder but suffered badly from
traffic. Everybody is now looking forward to the Silverstone
test next week and the European Grand Prix – both of
which should see us move further forward in our competitiveness
and World Championship objectives."
NORBERT HAUG
"A difficult race after an unsatisfactory qualifying
during which Juan Pablo and Kimi improved to third and fifth
respectively starting from seven and eighth. Once they were
out of traffic, which hampered the progress of both drivers
during the first half of the race, they showed that the pace
was there. Again we demonstrated reliability in the race.
We will continue to improve our performance and are looking
forward to the first of Mercedes' two home Grands Prix at
the Nürburgring in two weeks time."
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