Monte Carlo Formula 1: McLaren and Raikkonen win and bring title back to life
from Automotive (1599 articles)
Raikkonen conquered Monte Carlo with a wickedly quick drive
Image Gallery ( 42 images )The race began strongly, with Alonso running second and Fisichella third in the opening stages, and when the race fell under safety car conditions just before half distance, both drivers were called into the pits for their only stop. Unfortunately, they called in at the same time, resulting in Fisichella having to wait and dropping to eighth place while Alonso rejoined in third.
Prior to the race, the team’s engineers had predicted that rear tyre wear might prove severe on the R25, even on the harder compound tyre chosen by both drivers, and the effects of this began to show from mid-race onwards.
Fisichella lost speed after his stop, reporting a lack of grip which continued to worsen until the end of the race; the lack of rear grip cost him traction and braking stability, and he was unable to defend his position against his direct competitors. He finished the race in 12th place.
Fernando Alonso resisted longer, the Spaniard fending off the two Williams until the final ten laps. He was nevertheless able to finish fourth, maintaining his position atop the drivers’ championship, and salvage five points from a testing afternoon for the team.
Kimi Räikkönen, West McLaren Mercedes, first: "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."
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."
Nick Heidfeld, Williams BMW, second: “I am very very pleased to get my best ever result here in Monaco. I had a very good start and I even touched Mark at the first corner, but that's racing. But then I was stuck with other drivers behind Trulli for some time so I tried to save fuel and tyres. When the safety car came out and the engineers called us both in, the guys did a fantastic job in getting us out so quickly. Then I was lucky because the engineers decided to take a risk and pit earlier, for my second stop and this allowed me to get ahead of Mark. A lot of cars seemed to have problems with their tyres today but we didn't and towards the end I pushed as hard as I could. When I caught up to Alonso I knew he was struggling with his tyres so I decided to wait for a couple of laps to weigh up the best possibility to overtake him. Fernando defended well but I was just able to out-brake him which was such a good feeling.”
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