MONACO GRAND PRIX
Team McLaren Mercedes driver Juan Pablo Montoya finished
today's Monaco Grand Prix in second position. Team mate Kimi
Raikkonen retired from second place on lap 51 having never
been more than a second behind eventual race winner Fernando
Alonso. Both drivers were on two-stop strategies. Juan Pablo
came in for the first time on lap 21 (9.9 seconds) whilst
Kimi pitted one lap later (10.3 seconds). Both drivers used
the Safety Car period starting on lap 49 for their second
stops which lasted 6.3 seconds (Kimi) and 7.4 seconds (Juan
Pablo). Kimi is fourth in the Drivers' ranking with 27 points
and Juan Pablo is now fifth with 23 points. Team McLaren Mercedes
holds third place in the Constructors' Championship with 50
points. In preparation for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone
the team will be testing at Barcelona this coming week.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA
"I'm pleased with today's result as it’s a reward
for everybody at McLaren and Mercedes who have been working
hard for the past couple of weeks to improve our competitiveness.
As is often the case in Monaco I really struggled with traffic
and lost too much time to Fernando to be able to mount a challenge
when I had a clear track ahead of me. The car was good, and
I think we could have won today if things had gone our way.
However Monaco is such an unpredictable race where you have
to be in the right place at the right time. We now want to
work hard to continue our progress. There is still some way
to go, but I'm really looking forward to the British Grand
Prix."
KIMI RAIKKONEN
"Things just didn't go my way today. Our strategy would
probably have meant that I would have been able to take the
lead after the second series of pitstops, but we really lost
out when the Safety Car came out. Then there was a small fire
caused by a heat shield which damaged a wiring loom and that
was the end of the race for me. It's always disappointing
to retire both for me and the team, but it's particularly
hard when you all know that you are in with a good chance
to win. However we have made progress, and the car was really
competitive today, and we aim to do well at Silverstone."
RON DENNIS
"A good result for Juan Pablo whose challenge for the
lead was hampered by the traffic between him and Fernando
following his last stop which took place during the Safety
Car period. After the first round of pitstops it was clear
to us that Kimi had seven laps more fuel than Fernando. Kimi
was just saving his tyres and engine but then the deployment
of the Safety Car following Webber's on-track retirement caused
us to lose this advantage. During Kimi's stop the exhaust
temperature rose significantly and failed to cool sufficiently
following his return to the track behind the Safety Car. The
excessive heat burnt a wiring loom which finished his race.
At least we were very competitive, and our target is to maintain
the momentum into Silverstone."
NORBERT HAUG
"We showed good speed during the whole weekend and the
right strategy to be in with the best chance of winning. I
am sorry for Kimi who had to retire due to a heat shield fire.
Well done to Juan Pablo who drove a solid race to finish second.
This weekend has seen us taking a step forward, and we want
to continue this trend. We are now looking forward to the
next race at Silverstone."
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