August 29, 2004

West McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen was the winner of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after leading 29 of the 44 laps to cross the finishing line 3.1sec ahead of Michael Schumacher. The Ferrari driver's second place secured his record seventh Drivers' World Championship with four of the season's 18 races still remaining. Despite an extra unscheduled pit stop caused by a collision David finished in the points in seventh position. This victory is the second of Kimi's career and the 34th for West McLaren Mercedes. With 49 points the team holds fifth position in the Constructors' World Championship table.

The start: David, fourth on the grid, overtook Michael Schumacher on the way to the first corner, accelerating out of the La Source hairpin in third position. Kimi, who had qualified tenth, improved five places after the start to complete the opening lap in fifth place. Due to a collision involving several cars on the opening lap the race was slowed by the safety car until the end of lap four.

The race: Kimi overtook Michael Schumacher after the restart, at the beginning of the fifth lap going into the Eau Rouge corner. One lap later the Finn passed his team-mate to take third position ahead of David. On lap 10, the leader Jarno Trulli (Renault) came into the pits which allowed Kimi to move into second position. Two laps later Fernando Alonso (Reanult) retired from the lead of the race: that allowed Kimi to move into first position. As the race leader he came into the pits on lap 13 for his first scheduled refuelling stop and came back into the event in fourth position. On lap 17 Kimi was back in the lead, coming into the pits for his second planned stop on lap 29 and resumed in second position for one lap. After Michael Schumacher's second stop, Kimi again went back into the lead. Between laps 30 to 34 and laps 40 to 41 the safety car was again deployed. After the last restart on lap 42, Kimi did the fastest lap in the race (1m45.108s) and crossed the finishing line after 44 laps as the winner.

David's car suffered a right rear tyre failure on lap 12. The Scot drove very slowly back to the pits and resumed the race with a new tyre in last position. After the second safety car period David took eighth place on lap 37. As he attempted to overtake Christian Klien on lap 39 he touched the back of the Jaguar, losing his front wing and made an extra pit stop for a replacement nose. In the last three laps, after the third safety car period, he improved from tenth to seventh position.

Kimi Räikkönen: "I could not hope for a better result today. It has been a tough season this year, we have been close to a good result a couple of times already, and finally the good work of the entire team on track, in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart has been rewarded with a win. The race itself was tough as I suffered a little damage to the floor of the car after the start when Felipe Massa hit me from behind, but that did not hamper my performance. Then from lap eight onwards I experienced problems with the downshift throughout the race, which affected the breaking at the hairpin, however despite all this we achieved an exceptional result."

David Coulthard: "It was a good result for the team today. From my side it was quite an eventful race having lost a tyre before going in for my first pitstop from third position. I had a lot of work to do to get back in the points. I had managed to move up to be in eighth position when I lost my front wing, colliding with Klien. So all in all seventh place is a reasonable result from the day."

Ron Dennis, Team Principal: "A tremendous result for the team, the whole day speaks for itself. It was particularly satisfying when taking into account the safety car deployment on three occasions. Kimi's fastest lap two laps from the end of the race was absolutely sensational. David's puncture meant that he did not achieve the result he should have today, but seventh in the difficult circumstances was worth having."

Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "Congratulations to Kimi for a great race. Despite having a gear selection problem from the beginning he managed to achieve the fastest lap of today. The whole team have worked so hard to make this win possible. It's a pity that David didn't have the chance to finish higher up following his tyre damage early on, but speedwise he definitely was a candidate for the podium. Well done to everyone in the team, and thank you for all your efforts in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart. Congratulations to Michael Schumacher and Ferrari for winning the World Championship."