June 30, 2004

The Team McLareen Mercedes drivers Kimi Räikkönen and David Coulthard finished the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis in sixth and seventh positions. Both drivers were on two-stop strategies but were forced to make unscheduled pit stops. Kimi came into the pits on two additional occasions due to a problem with the pneumatic system. David made an unscheduled stop to allow the mechanics to remove a piece of polystyrene from underneath his car. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) won the 73-lap race.

MP4-19 03: David
MP4-19 01: Kimi

The start: Kimi started seventh on the grid and was fifth after the opening lap. David, who had qualified twelfth, improved by two positions and was tenth after the first lap. Following a first-corner incident, the Safety Car was deployed until the end of lap five.

The race: On lap ten Kimi was fourth and David was in eighth place. The Safety Car came out a second time due to an accident of Ralf Schumacher (BMW-Williams). Both West McLaren Mercedes drivers pitted simultaneously. Kimi's stop lasted 7.8sec whilst David who had to queue up behind his team mate, was stationary for 14.6sec. Both resumed in sixth and twelfth positions respectively. Following the re-start on lap 20, Kimi improved to fourth on lap 24. The team had planned a two-stop strategy for the Finn; however, they had to top up the pneumatic air system with additional air. Kimi stopped another three times: on lap 29 (7.0sec), on lap 34 (15.0sec) and on lap 59 (11.8sec). Between laps 34 and 59 he improved from twelfth to sixth. He maintained this position during his last pit stop and crossed the finish line in sixth place. The deflector on David's car had been damaged by debris during the early stages of the race. The Scot came in for his second stop on lap 47 from ninth place (9.2sec). On lap 54 he made an unscheduled pit stop. He had picked up a piece of polystyrene which the mechanics had to remove from underneath the car. David resumed in ninth place and was seventh at the chequered flag.

Kimi Räikkönen: "I did score some points today, but I'm still a bit disappointed as I strongly believe I could have finished on the podium. We have taken a step forward with the MP4-19 and were able to run reasonably competitively, but it was not to be. We had a strong race strategy, the car was handling well, and I was able to really attack. However I was forced to make two unscheduled stops as the team had to top up the pneumatic air system on the engine with additional air, which at the end cost me quite a few positions."

David Coulthard: "It was a difficult Sunday for me, but at least both Kimi and I managed to finish the race and score some points. In the early stages I picked up some debris, which damaged my deflector and upset the balance of the car, which made it difficult to handle for the rest of the Grand Prix. Towards the end of the race I had to make another stop as a piece of polystyrene had lodged itself underneath my car, which the mechanics had to remove. I now look forward to the next race at Magny Cours in two weeks time."

Ron Dennis, Team Principal: "An eventful day for everybody at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Both Kimi and David were on strong strategies in an incident-filled race and were able to run competitively. There is no doubt that Kimi could have finished on the podium had his race not been badly hampered by a faulty engine air compressor, which forced him to make two unscheduled stops. David had to make an additional stop after a piece of polystyrene debris lodged itself underneath the car. At least we managed to score five points, which is a small consolation in a race where we would have been truly competitive."

Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: At least we scored five points, although Kimi could have managed a better result if he hadn't suffered problems with the pneumatic system forcing him into the pits two additional times, which cost him a lot of time. David's race was hampered by a polystyrene piece, which had to be removed during an unscheduled pit stop and he lost 30 seconds. The entire team is now focusing on the test with the revised 19B starting Tuesday at Jerez."