British F1 GP: McLaren 1st and 3rd but Alonso/Renault extend lead

At 31 laps, just over half distance, Montoya lead Alonso by 4.7 seconds, with Fisichella a further 2.4 behind. On lap 32, Barrichello was the first to make a second stop from fifth place. Most excitement at this stage? Klien trying to pass Villeneuve for 13th. These two refuelled together on lap 39. Fifth placed Raikkonen was now a second off Button's tail as Montoya put in another fastest lap. Lap 41 and the gap was just 0.6. The Englishman refuelled on lap 43. Juan Pablo refuelled on lap 44 letting Alonso into the lead, as Kimi pitted on lap 45. Barrichello was on an aggressive strategy that did not seem to be working too well as he made a third refuelling stop on lap 46. His team-mate M Schumacher made his second stop on lap 47. Coulthard came in from 12th on lap 48, with Alonso coming in on 49, thus handing the lead back to Montoya.

So with ten laps remaining, the order was Montoya, Alonso, Raikkonen, Fisichella, Button, M Schumacher, Barrichello with R Schumacher in the last points position, eighth. The order then remained the same all the way to the chequered flag - a great result for the West McLaren Mercedes team, with the added spice of Kimi setting the fastest race lap on the very last of the 60 laps.

Amazingly, there was just one retirement: Narain Karthikeyan.

Team Quotes:

Juan Pablo Montoya West McLaren Mercedes, first place: "It's a great feeling winning my first Grand Prix for Team McLaren Mercedes. My start was perfect, and I managed to get by Fernando in a wheel-to-wheel dice after the second corner. I was really going for it and knew that he had more to lose than me - I just wanted to win the race. It was then all about staying ahead and our strategy combined with two excellent pit stops really helped me to manage that. The team did a great job particularly calling me in one lap early for my first pitstop to avoid traffic, which was the right decision and meant I gained an advantage to Fernando. However, it was not an easy race as Fernando put me under a lot of pressure until the very end. I'm relieved to have won my first race of the year especially as it was the home Grand Prix of McLaren and a lot of the people from the Technology Centre and Mercedes-Benz at Brixworth were here cheering."

Ron Dennis, Team principal, Juan Pablo Montoya West McLaren Mercedes: “I think today's results speak for themselves. An outstanding performance from Juan Pablo who worked hard to generate sufficient gap to Alonso prior to his final stop to ensure his race victory, which of course he achieved. Kimi's third place reflects his poor starting position resulting from a penalty he suffered following an engine change on Saturday. Nevertheless he set fastest lap and with 80 points available mathematically both drivers still have the opportunity to challenge for the Championship."

Norbert Haug, Mercedes Motorsport: "A fantastic race and a great day for all the team members which saw Juan Pablo's first victory for the team. His start was exceptional, and he did not put one foot wrong during the race. Our race strategy was good. Kimi's speed throughout the race was impressive, and he finally achieved the fastest lap of the race on his very last lap. Kimi lost two points to Alonso in the championship. Without the engine change yesterday he could certainly have achieved a better result, so again, sorry for that, we will try even harder. We are now looking forward to our home Grand Prix at Hockenheim.

Fernando Alonso, Renault, Second Place: “It is a nice surprise to be on the podium at one of our most difficult circuits, and to have extended my lead over Kimi in the championship. It was also encouraging because we started from pole, which shows that the car is competitive, and I think we are looking strong for the rest of the season too. In terms of the race, I lost the lead at the start and after that, followed Montoya until the stops. The team gave me a heavy fuel load so we could try and overtake during the final stops, but then I got stuck in traffic – I lost a lot of time behind Trulli but it wasn’t his fault because they were not showing any blue flags. That meant I was still behind when I came out after my last stop. It is a bit frustrating to lose a win because of that, but this is still a great result for us.”

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