F1 Monaco 2005 : Kimi Raikkonen wins

Monte Carlo, May 22, 2005 The start: Kimi started from his third consecutive pole position and for the sixth time in his career. He took an immediate lead ahead of Alonso and finished the opening lap 1.2sec ahead. Juan Pablo Montoya moved up in the first lap from 16th to 12th position.

The race: Until lap 24 Kimi set the fastest lap of the race nine times and opened the gap over Alonso to six seconds. The safety car was then deployed, after a collision between several cars in the Mirabeau corner, which briefly blocked the track, from lap 25 to 28. After that Kimi led ahead of Jarno Trulli(Toyota) and Alonso. On lap 42 Kimi was leading by 35sec and came in for his sole refuelling stop (10.5sec) without losing the lead to Alonso. After 78 laps he won the race by 13.8sec ahead of Heidfeld.

After the safety car period Juan Pablo was tenth and got stuck in a queue behind Barrichello (Ferrari). On lap 46 the Colombian came in from eighth position to refuel (9.5sec) and resumed without losing his place. On lap 61 he overtook Massa (Sauber Petronas) and moved up to seventh. On lap 64 he overtook Fisichella (Renault) at the Loews corner and immediately passed Trulli (Toyota) after the tunnel to take fifth. After that he closed in on Alonso, but overtaking on the narrow street circuit was not possible. Juan Pablo took the chequered flag 0.1sec behind the world championship leader in fifth position.

Kimi Räikkönen: "This is great. To win is always fantastic, but Monaco is a special challenge. We have been strong throughout the weekend and I was able to pretty much control the race. I was able to push and open up a considerable gap, and when the time was right I simply came into the pits, refuel and still rejoin the race in the lead. After that I could take it a bit easier and look after the car and the Michelin tyres. Once again thank you to the entire team and everybody at Michelin. We have worked hard, and I think we have the best package out there at the moment. Our World Championship battle has gained momentum today. We will take one race at a time and continue to do our best."

Juan Pablo Montoya: "I think we made the best out of our situation and scored some important points for the team and me. I was so close to getting past Fernando Alonso on the last couple of laps but had to settle for fifth position as I did not want to risk too much. My car was working very well, and without a starting position on the back of the grid a place on the podium would have been possible. I gained a lot of places at the start and had a few battles in the race with Massa, Rubens and Trulli which kept me pretty busy. Congratulations to Kimi on his victory. I have won this race once and know how special it is to claim victory in Monaco."

Ron Dennis: McLaren Team Principal: "A tremendous result for the team. Kimi drove an absolute faultless race coping well with the need to pace himself to not only conserving the car but of course also the tyres. The safety car deployment caused minor confusion with our strategists working to double-check the data before making the final call on whether to bring Kimi into the pits or not. Clearly they were right and the outcome obvious. Juan Pablo had an impressive drive through the field which coupled with our strategy gave him a well deserved fifth place. A special mention to our Partner Michelin who clearly gave us the best tyres today."

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:

"A race with thrills and excitement. Kimi was sensational and the entire team did an excellent job. With his fifth place Juan Pablo made the best out of his 16th starting position on the grid. We now look forward to next weekend's race at the Nürburgring which is the first of two Mercedes-Benz home Grands Prix."