Juan Pablo Montoya Wins Monaco GP

Monaco Grand Prix  -  RACE
1st June 2003

Weather: dry, air 23-24°C, track 23-24°C

Monte Carlo (MCO). Juan Pablo Montoya achieved the first  victory of the
2003 season for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team at the Monaco Grand Prix. It is the
sixth since the beginning of the team¹s partnership which began in 2000, the
last  victory for the team was at the 2002 Malaysian GP.  WilliamsF1¹s last
Monaco victory dates back to 1983 with Keke Rosberg. Montoya celebrated the
second win of his F1 career after Monza 2001.
Ralf Schumacher finished the race in fourth position. With today¹s result,
the BMW WilliamsF1 Team closed the gap to rivals McLaren and Ferrari in the
Constructors¹  World Championship. Montoya and Schumacher are now equal
fifth in the drivers¹ ranking.

Juan Pablo Montoya:    1st
Chassis: FW25 06                                        Best time: 1:14.902
min (lap 47, 4th)
"Today was the ideal day. The car worked well, the tyres worked well and the
team did a fantastic job. We really needed this. It¹s fantastic, it¹s
unreal, there were a few races where I was close to a win and then I just
didn¹t make it, like in Australia, for example. The key today has been the
start, where I was able to jump in front of Kimi and then I set about
widening the gap from him before my pit-stops. After that it was just a
matter of pacing myself. I was not under too much pressure in the last laps
when Kimi was close behind but I had to be alert. The tyres in particular
worked very well and were consistent. Winning in Monaco is very special,
there is no other race like this in Formula One. It is a bit like winning
the Indy 500 in the USA. This is the first time I have finished the race
here since I started racing in F1 and I have won it!"

Ralf Schumacher:    4th
Chassis: FW25 05               Best time: 1:14.768 min (lap 77, 3rd)
"Obviously it is disappointing to finish fourth when you start on pole
especially on a track like Monaco when being on pole means more than
anywhere else. The balance of my car was for some reason not ideal after the
first pit stop and I could not keep up with the pace of the leaders.
Congratulations to Juan Pablo and the whole team for the great result."

Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):
"It was a fantastic result for the whole team. Juan did a great job in
winning on such a difficult track. The key to success in this race is
downforce and mechanical grip. I think today we showed how good the car
really is and the tyres worked well too. Ralf started well, had a slow
middle stint and made a mistake in the Rascasse in the last stint but it
didn¹t effect his final finishing position. However, tonight we will be
celebrating with the whole team and the guys from Michelin."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"This is such a great result, it feels just so good! This success, including
yesterday¹s pole position, means further motivation for our team. We have
felt for a while that we are improving, but did not manage to turn it into
results. Juan drove a race without any errors and he kept those behind him
under control. Ralf had a little bit of bad luck after both his pit stops
when each time a car passed him by fractions of a second."

Silverstone Test: 3-6 June, Ralf Schumacher (3,4,5) and Marc Gené (6)
Monza Test: 3-5 June, Marc Gené all days