April 3, 2005

West McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Räikkönen finished the Bahrain Grand Prix in third place. After 57 laps he crossed the finishing line 32 seconds behind the race winner Fernando Alonso(Renault). Test driver Pedro de la Rosa, deputising for the injured Juab Pablo Montoya, finished the race in fifth place and also set the fastest race lap. West McLaren Mercedes scored its first podium finish of the 2005 season and currently hold third place in the Constructors' World Championship with 19 points. Leaders Renault currently have 36 points.

The start: Pedro had qualified on the grid in eighth place and was in ninth position by the end of the opening lap. Kimi started from ninth place on the grid and finished the first lap in seventh place.

The race: From the ninth lap Kimi was in second place less than a second behind Nick Heidfeld (BMW Williams) but he was unable to overtake. Pedro got stuck behind Takuma Sato (BAR-Honda) from the 12th lap and had a brief off-track moment as he tried to pass the Japanese driver on lap 21, losing two places. Two laps later the Spaniard came in for his first pit stop (9.1sec) and resumed in 12th position. Kimi came in on the following lap from second place (9.1sec) and went back into the race holding sixth place. Kimi took third place on lap 34 after Mark Webber (BMW Williams) briefly slid off the road in front of him. On lap 43 the Finn came in for his second refuelling stop (7.8sec) and came home third after the remaining 14 laps of the race.

Pedro overtook Jenson Button (BAR-Honda) on lap 33 and started to attack Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) immediately after. On lap 41 the Spaniard outbraked the Ferrari and posted the fastest lap of the race (1m 31.447s) and next time round he came in for his second refuelling stop (6.9sec) in sixth position. Having rejoined the race he reeled in Mark Webber, dicing closely with the Australian whom he outbraked two laps from the finish to cross the finishing line in fifth place.

Kimi Räikkönen: "I am very pleased with third place after a difficult two qualifying sessions. The car felt really good in the race, but unfortunately I was stuck behind a lot of traffic early on. I managed to gain a few places, but once I was in third position the front two cars were too far ahead for me to catch them."

Pedro de la Rosa: "I had a great time racing today. My lap times were consistently fast when I had a clear track ahead. However most of the race I had fights with competitors which kept me busy. I gave it my all to win the battles against Takuma Sato, Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button and Mark Webber. It was hard work to make my way through the field after a difficult first few laps coming from ninth after the first lap. I must thank the whole team who have worked so hard to provide me with a car that was both fast and reliable."

Ron Dennis, Team Principal: "A challenging weekend, which, in contrast to Malaysia, allowed us to demonstrate the true potential of our cars. We are fully aware of what we have to do to improve our qualifying positions and will try hard to accelerate elements of change that were originally targeted for the Spanish Grand Prix. A great result for both drivers with Kimi achieving a podium position and Pedro demonstrating the level of professionalism and speed that we have always observed in his testing role. Our goals for 2005 remain completely unchanged, there are still 16 races to go and everything is still possible."

Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "Congratulations to Kimi for third and Pedro for fifth place. The potential for top results is there, which can be seen from Kimi's podium finish and Pedro's fastest lap. With better grid positions more will be possible soon. We will continue to work hard to further improve our package and look forward to the start of the European season in Imola in three weeks time."