F1 Japanese GP: Kimi Raikkonen wins from 17th on the Grid

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F1 Japanese GP: Kimi Raikkonen wins from 17th on the Grid

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October 10, 2005 Having won nine of the previous 12 Grands Prix the team contested, a McLaren Mercedes victory was predictable at the Japanese Grand Prix held yesterday, but in the end the team’s sixth consecutive victory was a complete surprise. Having finished the last Grand Prix in first and second positions, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen were the last drivers in the qualifying order and when torrential rain hit during the last part of qualifying, their qualifying times were so handicapped by the flooded track they began the race in 17th and 18th positions respectively.

In a sport where passing is extremely difficult, that gave the team almost no chance of a victory but such is the competitiveness of the McLaren, Raikkonen drove through the field to 12th on the first lap and picked off those in front of him one by one, passing Giancarlo Fisichella’s Renault part way through the last of 53 laps to take the win. McLaren must be ruing its early season fragility as this championship is surely one that got away.

For the new champion Alonso, the race was also a triumph of sorts, as he too fell foul of the qualifying deluge and started in 16th place on the grid. Alonso’s opening lap was even more stunning than Raikkonen’s and he was running eighth after just one circuit. He lost seven seconds in the middle of the second stint, when he was obliged by the FIA to concede a position to Klien for the second time, and then drove aggressively throughout, making up positions with some of the season’s most dramatic overtaking manoeuvres. He ran a short middle stint but the time lost during the opening stint had cost him track position, and left him with too much to do to fight for the lead at the end of the race. Nevertheless, he finished third – his fourteenth podium of the year and assisted the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team to a double podium (second and third) and the 14 point haul (8 + 6) which enabled it to wrest back the lead in the constructors championship table from McLaren. The teams go to the final race of the year in China next weekend with Renault leading McLaren by two points.

The early race was dominated by the barnstorming Raikkonen and Montoya and the fall-out from their charge from the rear of the grid. Juan Pablo was side by side with Jacques Villeneuve (Sauber Petronas) coming out of the chicane on the first lap just before the start/finish line and was pushed off the track. The accident caused the race to be neutralised as the safety car was deployed.

At the end of the seventh lap the safety car was withdrawn and the race proper was resumed. By lap 14, with just seven more laps of racing, Raikkonen had clawed back another five positions and was up to seventh place behind Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Renault). By lap 24 Raikkonen was up to second place behind Michael Schumacher coming up to the first round of refuelling stops.

At the end of lap 26 Raikkonen followed Schumacher in to make his first stop in 8.3s. He resumed sixth, then moved up to fifth and then overtook Schumacher for fourth place going into lap 30. Race leader Giancarlo Fisichella made his second stop on lap 38. This allowed Jenson Button (BAR-Honda) into the lead ahead of Mark Webber (Williams-BMW) and Raikkonen, the three of them covered by 1.1sec. Button and Webber made their second stops on lap 41 with Raikkonen setting the fastest race lap in 1m 31.540s on lap 44 before making his final stop in 4.9sec on lap 45, resuming second behind Fisichella. He reduced Fisichella's lead steadily and overtook him going into the final lap to win by just under two seconds.

Kimi Räikkönen, McLaren Mercedes, first: “That was one of my best races ever with a lot of hard work and I really enjoyed myself. Considering all the problems we have had here to come away with a win is just fantastic. I was pushing as hard as I could and the car just got better and better. After my second stop I had gained enough on Fisichella to go for it and I did. I got past him on the last lap coming into the first corner and it was one of those opportunities you have to take. Today’s result means that I have the best possible position for qualifying in China but as this weekend showed that is no guarantee. I look forward to Shanghai where we will do everything we can to win the Constructors’ Championship.”

Ron Dennis, McLaren Team Principal: “Probably the best race of Kimi’s career and a fantastic reward for the team’s efforts in what has been a challenging weekend. The strategy was executed in a professional and disciplined manner and Michelin also performed to their usual high standard. Unfortunately Juan Pablo was the victim of an incident with Jacques Villeneuve which is currently being investigated by the Stewards and we expect them to share our opinion.”

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “Congratulations to Kimi and the entire team for this outstanding performance. Both drivers had a big handicap starting from the back which meant that Juan Pablo was a victim in the traffic on the first lap. Kimi had to fight hard to make progress being hampered by lots of traffic. The team’s strategy helped him and he gave it his all. Passing Fisichella on the outside of the first corner on the last lap was one of the greatest moves we have seen for a long time – probably since Mika’s in Spa 2000. Thanks to Michelin for an excellent job and their first Formula One win in Japan. Thanks to all the team members and we give it our all in China next week.”

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