April 24, 2005

West McLaren Mercedes driver Alexander Wurz finished the San Marino Grand Prix in fourth place. After 62 laps the Austrian, who was standing in for Juan Pablo Montoya, was 27.5sec behind winner Fernando Alonso (Renault). Kimi Räikkönen, who had started from pole position, retired from the lead on lap nine with the failure of the left driveshaft CV joint. After four of the season's 19 world championship rounds, West McLaren Mercedes is third in the Constructors' World Championship with 24 points behind Renault (46 points) and Toyota on 28 points.

The start: Kimi started from the fourth pole position of his F1 career. He took the lead immediately and completed the first lap 2sec ahead of Alonso. Alexander Wurz came round in seventh place, the position from which he started on the grid.

The race: Kimi extended his lead to 3.4sec by the end of lap eight. On the following lap his car encountered a CV joint failure on the left-hand driveshaft and he came slowly round to the pits to retire. Meanwhile Alex was sixth. At the first round of stops, which started on lap 16, the Austrian came in on lap 25 now in fourth place. He was stationary for 9.148sec and resumed holding the same position. On lap 47 Alex came in for his second scheduled stop in 7.547sec and continued still in fourth place.

For a considerable portion of the race Alex recorded lap times comparable with the leaders. He eventually crossed the line 27.5sec behind Alonso and improved to third following the disqualification of BAR-Honda.

Kimi Räikkönen: "Unfortunately my race was cut short as a result of a failure in the left driveshaft. Obviously I am disappointed as I had a great start and was really building on my lead. At least we know that the car has the pace in both qualifying as well as the race, and with some improvements due for Spain in two weeks I am looking forward to a good race there."

Alexander Wurz: "I am really happy with my result today. I drove a tactical race, particularly right before the first pitstop, when I needed to close the gap between Mark Webber and Takuma Sato. I managed to gain an advantage once they pitted and as a result came out ahead of them. I could have been faster; however early on in the race I was stuck in traffic, so could not close the gap to Jenson Button. I am pleased that the team gave me this opportunity and I did my best to justify their commitment to me. A shame for Kimi, he would have deserved a top result this weekend."

Ron Dennis, Team Principal: "Of course we are very disappointed with the outcome of the race. Kimi was doing a fantastic job and had already pulled out a healthy lead over Fernando Alonso until a CV joint failed in the driveshaft. Alex's fourth place was well deserved and again reflected the professional approach he has taken to the weekend as a whole. Apologies again to Kimi."

Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "It's a pity that Kimi retired in the lead with a driveshaft failure, sorry Kimi. He did everything right starting from pole position and pulling away from the field after a perfect start. We had the right strategy, which would have given Kimi even more of an advantage. This is our first failure to lead to retirement this year, and the team will sort that out. Alex did a good job and was among the fastest of the Michelin runners. We will stay focused and work hard to further improve."