Montoya beats Kimi to the podium
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 couldstart 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."
