FORMULA ONE: Montoya caps solemn weekend with first F1 victory
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
September 16, 2001INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2001 - Juan Pablo Montoya won his first Grand Prix after driving his Williams-BMW to victory in the Italian Grand Prix on Sept. 16 at Monza.
Montoya's win came just two weeks before the SAP United States Grand Prix on Sept. 30 in Indianapolis. Montoya won the Indianapolis 500 in May 2000 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"I think it's going to be a very emotional race for everybody," Montoya said of this year's U.S. Grand Prix. "I'm very happy to go back there. Last time I was there, I won. I've taken my first Formula One win now. The car should work pretty well there, so it should be quite interesting."
Montoya joins Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi and Jacques Villeneuve as one of the drivers who have won the Indianapolis 500 and a Grand Prix in the modern F1 era that began in 1950.
The mood throughout this year's Italian Grand Prix weekend was solemn and sober given the tragedy of the terrorist attacks in the United States. On Friday and Sunday, everybody at the Monza circuit stood silently for one minute in tribute to the victims of the attacks.
After the race, Montoya, Rubens Barrichello, who finished second in his Ferrari, and Ralf Schumacher, who finished third in his Williams-BMW, did not hold the usual champagne spraying celebrations on the podium. There were other marks of respect and tribute during the weekend. Both Ferraris ran with no sponsor logos of any kind and had had black noses. Both Ferrari drivers wore unbranded driver suits, and the Williams-BMW drivers wore black armbands. The Jaguar-Cosworths ran with their airboxes painted black, and Jordan's sponsor Deutsche Post replaced its branding on the Jordan's engine cover with American flags as a mark of respect for the victims. The teams canceled parties and other functions scheduled during the weekend.
Montoya qualified on the pole for the third time in four races, and he took the lead at the start ahead of the Ferraris of Barrichello and Michael Schumacher and the Williams-BMW of Ralf Schumacher. The two Schumachers battled side-by-side on the opening lap, but Ralf Schumacher had tire problems and soon dropped back. Barrichello took over the lead on Lap 9 when Montoya made a mistake.
The Ferraris were on a two-stop strategy while the Williams-BMWs would only pit once for fuel and tires. Barrichello pitted on Lap 19, and a problem with the refueling rig cost him valuable time and possibly the win. That put Montoya back in the lead that he held until his pit stop on Lap 28. Ralf Schumacher then led until pitting on Lap 36. Barrichello took over first place until his second stop on Lap 41, and that put Montoya back into the lead he would keep for the rest of the race.
Neither West McLaren-Mercedes driver was a factor in the race. David Coulthard ran fifth early in the race but soon retired with engine problems. Mika Hakkinen dropped to 13th after avoiding the accident between Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button at the first chicane right after the start and later retired with a broken gearbox.
Montoya averaged 143.571 mph (239.103 km/h) to complete the 53-lap, 190.604-mile (306.749 km) race in one hour, 16 minutes and 58.493 seconds. His margin of victory was 5.175 seconds.
Text provided by Paul Kelly
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