June 12, 2005

McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Räikkönen has won the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. After 70 laps the Finn took the chequered flag 1.1sec ahead of Michael Schumacher (Ferrari). Juan Pablo Montoya was black flagged and disqualified after 53 laps following a rule infringement after his second refuelling stop. After eight of the 19 world championship rounds, Team McLaren Mercedes is second in the constructors' ranking with 63 points behind Renault on 76 points. Kimi remains second in the drivers' ranking after his third victory of the season with 37 points behind Fernando Alonso (59 points) who had to retire from the race in Montreal.

The start: Juan Pablo had qualified in fifth place and moved up to fourth going into the first corner. Kimi, seventh in qualifying, improved his position by two places and was fifth at the end of the opening lap.

The race: As third place man Jenson Button (BAR-Honda) came in for his first refuelling stop on lap 15 Juan Pablo moved up to third and Kimi to fourth position. Both McLaren-Mercedes drivers were at this stage maintaining a pace which matched that of the Renaults of Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso ahead of them. On lap 23 Kimi set the fastest lap of the race in 1m14.384s. One lap later he came in for his first refuelling stop (10.597sec) and retained fourth position. A further lap later Juan Pablo came in (10.117s) and also retained his third position.

After the retirement of Fisichella on lap 33 Juan Pablo was second and the gap to Alonso to less than one second. As the Spaniard retired on lap 39 Juan Pablo took the lead ahead of Kimi. The safety car was deployed at the end of lap 48 after an accident involving Jenson Button. Kimi used this safety car period for his second scheduled stop (10.850s). Juan Pablo came in one lap later (6.050s) after which Kimi went into the lead ahead of his team-mate. At the start of the 52nd lap the safety car was withdrawn and the race restarted. One lap later Juan Pablo was disqualified for passing the red light at the end of the pit lane. In the final stages Kimi controlled the race and came home after 70 laps ahead of the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. This was Kimi's fifth GP victory and the 37th for Team McLaren Mercedes.

Kimi Räikkönen : "I have gained what I lost at the last race and my Championship battle is back on. I came here to get ten points and we got them and I'm really pleased. Just after my first pitstop my steering developed a problem which meant that whenever I was driving straight it was pulling to the left. After the race I learnt that the team was monitoring the situation carefully, but I had to do the best I could, and we made it. The team told me to take it easy, but I still had to push, so it was all about finding the right balance. Towards the end Michael was catching up but it was not too much of a problem. I can't wait for the race in Indianapolis next week where I think, once again, we should be in with a good chance of winning."

Juan Pablo Montoya : "I'm disappointed because I was so close to winning my first race for the team. As a team we all try so hard to be the best, but nobody is perfect and not being told to stop immediately after the Safety Car was deployed was made worse by me missing the red light which ultimately was the end of my race. I will quickly put all this behind me because I love Indianapolis and I'm really looking forward to racing there next week even though I will be somewhat penalised for having to go out first in qualifying."

Ron Dennis, Team Principal : "Throughout the race we had to take some difficult decisions which only increased the pressure on the pitwall. Against this backdrop the mistake was made of not calling Juan Pablo in immediately after the deployment of the Safety Car which, of course, was only compounded by him driving through the red light. This shadow should not detract from a fantastic race by both Kimi and Juan Pablo. A one-two was possible and would have most likely seen Juan Pablo take his first victory for the team."

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport : "A great race and a good performance from Kimi, Juan Pablo and everybody in the team. Juan Pablo was disqualified because he exited the pit lane under red lights after his second stop. Sorry for him, he drove a great race and would have deserved a win, which hopefully he will achieve very soon; he showed today that he can do it. I would like to thank everybody for the efforts displayed at McLaren in Woking, Mercedes-Ilmor in Brixworth and at Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart, and we are all now looking forward to the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis in seven days."