April 2 , 2006

Juan Pablo Montoya retires from fourth place

McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Räikkönen has finished the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne in second place. After 57 action packed laps which saw the safety car deployed on four occasions the Finn crossed the finishing line just 1.8sec behind winner Fernando Alonso (Renault). Juan Pablo Montoya retired 11 laps from the finish after running wide over a kerb which activated the engine's safety system and stalled the engine. Team McLaren Mercedes holds second place in the Constructors' Championship with 23 points, behind Renault on 42 points. Kimi holds a joint second place in the Drivers' Championship with Giancarlo Fisichella on 14 points. Alonso is first on 28 points.

The start: Kimi qualified fourth but by the end of the opening lap was up to third place. Juan Pablo qualified in fifth place and completed the opening lap fourth. On lap two, during the first of four safety car periods with a total of ten laps, Juan Pablo spun and dropped to sixth.

The race : On lap four, Montoya overtook Ralf Schumacher (Toyota), one lap later he passed Mark Webber (Williams) and was now in fourth place. After the second safety car period Kimi outbraked Jenson Button (Honda) and was second. Juan Pablo came in on lap 18 for his first refuelling stop (9.4sec) and resumed in fifth place while Kimi made his first stop on lap 21 (9.4sec) and dropped to fourth. Four laps later Kimi had moved up to second again with Juan Pablo in third.

Another safety car period on lap 34 triggered the second round of refuelling stops. Kimi was stationary for 16.7sec stop because a new nose section was fitted after the right hand front wing endplate had been damaged. Montoya followed him in for his second stop (11.3sec) and they resumed with Kimi third and Juan Pablo sixth. At the end of lap 46 Juan Pablo ran wide onto the kerb at the last corner and the impact activated the engine's safety system which shut down his engine, so he was forced to retire. Kimi set the fastest lap in 1m26.045s and finished sec ond 1.8sec behind Alonso at the finish.

Comments

Kimi Räikkönen: "Despite not winning I'm really pleased as we now have a package which is level with the Renaults which I think we demonstrated today. The race was rather hectic. I enjoyed a good battle with Juan Pablo at the start, but when I overtook Jenson I flatspotted my right front tyre which caused some vibration. However I was still able to go flat out and keep up with Fernando, but then all of a sudden the footplate on the right hand side of my front wing fractured probably due to the vibration. As a result I started to have severe understeer and lost a lot of time to Fernando. Fortunately with 21 laps to go the Safety Car came out which gave us enough time to go into the pits and change the front wing. I was really pushing, but in the final Safety Car period one of the Midland cars was between Fernando and I, which meant I was unable to get really close to have a go. An enjoyable race and I can't wait for Imola. The team has definitely made great progress with our entire package."

Juan Pablo Montoya: "There was a lot going on in the race today. As we were lining up on the grid I made a mistake and spun the car. Fortunately the start was aborted, and I was able to take up my original start position in fifth spot. However during the first Safety Car period I had another spin which cost me two positions. Overall I found it rather challenging getting the grip into the tyres today and the four Safety Car periods didn't make it easier. I think I could have finished on the podium, but as I was pushing to get past Ralf I hit the kerb at the start of the straight and went into a bit of a wobble but managed to save it. Unfortunately the impact activated a default system which switched off the engine and that was the end of my race. It's a real shame as our package felt fantastic throughout the weekend. We can definitely go into the start of the European season with lots of confidence."

Ron Dennis, Team Principal: “The early part of the race was exciting as once Kimi was past Button, he had the pace to catch Fernando. Juan Pablo's retirement was caused by the activation of the engine safety system following a severe impact on the kerb clearly costing him third place. Kimi's race was disrupted by a flatspotted tyre obtained whilst passing Button resulting in severe vibration that led to a failure of the right hand front wing endplate. Towards the end of the race we took advantage of one of the Safety Car deployments to change the nose which gave Kimi the ability to close the gap to Fernando. It was also disappointing that both Kimi and Juan Pablo were trapped behind slower cars in two of the re-starts but at the end of the day we have the pace to win and this time last year our points deficit was significantly greater. As a team we look forward to returning to Europe and continuing the battle."

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "Kimi gave it his all. Unfortunately he was hampered by a flatspotted tyre and a damaged part of the front wing. Once the nose was changed he demonstrated good speed. Juan Pablo hit a kerb too hard which caused his retirement. Our technical package is on a good level both with regards to speed and reliability, and now we have to improve our performance further during the next few races."