Australian GP: Montoya Sixth, Räikkönen Eighth

Melbourne, Mar 06, 2005 The start: Juan Pablo and Kimi were side-by-side on the fifth row of the starting grid in ninth and tenth positions. Their qualifying performance was adversely affected by poor circuit conditions following heavy rain which caught them out on Saturday. The Finn stalled his MP4-20 on the starting grid, causing the start to be aborted and he had to start instead from the pit lane. Juan Pablo improved by two positions during the first lap, coming round for the first time in seventh place. Kimi overtook four cars on his first lap to hold 16th, less than one second behind Michael Schumacher (Ferrari). The race: This order was maintained until the first round of pit stops beginning on lap 18. Juan Pablo came in for his refuelling stop on lap 23 (tyres are now not allowed to be changed under the new regulations unless in the case of damage). He was stationary for 9.2sec and resumed in sixth place. Kimi followed Michael Schumacher very closely until lap 25 when he made his first stop in 6.2sec, resuming in 12th position. After the World Champion also stopped one lap later, the two cars reversed their positions.

On lap 35 Kimi damaged the right-hand deflector when he ran wide over a kerb. This had to be removed during his second refuelling stop on lap 39 (9.0sec). Juan Pablo came in for a second stop on lap 42 (7.4sec). When the second round of stops had been completed, on lap 45 the Colombian was holding sixth place and Kimi eighth. This order remained the same to the finish.

Comments

Juan Pablo Montoya: "I'm pleased that we seem to have the speed with the MP4-20 package, and I would have been able to finish higher up had things gone our way. I lost some valuable time during my second stint as I was pushing really hard on the in-lap and got the rear tyre on the grass at Turn Eight. Later on there was a misunderstanding with one of the Jordans which meant I was pushed off the track. Towards the end I slowed down to conserve the package for Malaysia. After the race I have been told that I also had lost one of my deflectors which obviously affected the overall speed and the handling of my car."

Kimi Räikkönen: "The result might not show this but we have the pace to challenge for victories, which is great. However today my race was really over when I stalled the car at the start and had to begin my race from the pit lane. In the opening stages I was stuck behind Michael Schumacher which lost me some time, but when I got past him in the first round of pit stops I was able to pick up speed again. However my deflector came off and went underneath the car. The team removed it during my scheduled second pit stop but the loss obviously affected the handling of my car in the closing stages. I really look forward to Malaysia where hopefully we should be able to get the result we believe we are capable of and have some more consistent weather."

Ron Dennis, Team Principal: "Juan Pablo's race was unfolding as expected until he went on the grass. He also lost a deflector but if things had gone our way he would have finished on the podium. Kimi's grand prix was effectively over after he stalled the car at the start. During the race he was hampered by the loss of a deflector which subsequently jammed underneath the car. The positive outcomes of the opening race are the very good performance from our Michelin tyres and that we had the pace to win and as a result are looking forward to Malaysia and the rest of the season."

Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:

"Kimi's speed was reasonable, however after having to start from the pit lane a better place than eighth was not possible. Juan Pablo complained about handling problems in the last third of the race which we later discovered was due to a loss of a deflector. Our starting positions - tenth and from the pit lane – didn't help to get a better result. After only 15 laps, Kimi was already 40 seconds behind the leader and this was still the case after 57 laps."