September 12, 2004

West McLaren Mercedes driver David Coulthard ended up sixth in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza after changing from intermediate to dry tyres at the end of the formation lap on a drying track and starting from the pit lane. David came home 33.4sec behind winner Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari). His team mate Kimi Räikkönen retired after 13th out 53 laps due to an engine failure caused by a damaged radiator on the right side. West McLaren Mercedes holds fifth position in the Constructors' World Championship table with 52 points.

The start: Kimi had qualified seventh and improved to fourth on the opening lap. David was tenth on the grid with intermediate tyres on a drying track. At the end of the formation lap he came into the pits for dry tyres. The team refuelled his car and changed his strategy from two to one pit stop. David was 16th at the end of the first lap.

The race: On lap ten, Kimi took third place. A damaged radiator on the right side led to engine damage causing the Finn to pit on lap 13 and retire.

On lap four, David improved to 14th place. On lap 13, he was 11th and on lap 16 he was eighth and within the points positions. David came in for his only pit stop on the lap 26 from sixth position, and resumed in tenth place after a stop of 12.1sec. On lap 36 David had again improved to eighth and three laps later he regained sixth place. At the beginning of the penultimate lap he was hit from behinf by Antonio Pizzonia's BMW-Williams, however, David maintained his position and after 53 laps he came home sixth.

David Coulthard: "Considering the circumstances, we have to be relatively satisfied with sixth place. Based on my experience from last week's test I thought it would still be damp in the forest section of the track and decided to start the race on intermediates as did Rubens. However it already became clear on the installation lap that dry weather tyres were the right choice and I went into the pits to change. As a result the team changed my strategy to a one stop. Towards the end of the race Pizzonia hit me from the back whilst he was trying to overtake me under braking. To be honest I was ready for it as I knew he would try something like that and managed to keep the car on the track and salvage three points."

Kimi Räikkönen: "I think we could have been in a strong position for a podium finish today. However it was not to be, as after only two laps it became clear that my engine was losing water pressure. It was a shame as I made a good start and gained a few places. Things were looking good and this is not the way I would have liked to finish the European season, but at least we now have the pace to fight for victories."

Ron Dennis, Team Principal: "A frustrating end to the weekend. It was a race several people could have won and Kimi was one of them. However we were quickly out of contention after Kimi's engine suffered a water leak which ultimately damaged the engine. David's race was hampered by tyre choice, but he managed to get sixth. At the end of the day we are here to win, so a disappointing result of the Italian Grand Prix for us."

Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "It's a shame for Kimi to retire as he had the speed for a podium position today. His retirement was due to a damaged right radiator which led to engine damage, as we detected afterwards. We changed David's strategy when he went into the pits before the start of the race for dry weather tyres, and we took the opportunity to put additional fuel in the car, so he only had to come in once more, and sixth place was a good result for him taking into account his delayed start."