Results from the 2005 British Grand Prix
As predicted, it was a McLaren-Mercedes that took the chequered flag at Silverstone, but not that of race favourite Kimi Raikkonen. Instead it was his team mate Juan Pablo Montoya who took the honours - a fitting reward for the Colombian who has suffered an unlucky season so far.
Raikkonen had to settle for third place behind championship rival Fernando Alonso, after starting 12th on the grid. For the second week in a row the McLaren team had to change his car's engine during practice, costing him a 10 place grid penalty. But the superior pace of the McLarens was obvious as Raikkonen beat his way up the field to finish ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella, Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher. Rubens Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher picked up the last of the points.
Montoya started in third postion, behind Alonso's Renault and the BAR car of Button, but pulled off an incredible start, passing both before the first corner. Button would’ve been disappointed not to finish higher in front of his home crowd, except that his car hasn't performed well so far this season and fifth is the best finish he's achieved in 2005.
Once again, it was the strategy of pit stopping that determined the final outcome. By staying out longer than everyone else on the first stop, Raikkonen was able to quickly make up for lost time, but ultimately got caught behind Michael Schumacher and Jarno Trulli. A similar pitting situation on lap 44 added excitement to the race as Montoya only just held off Alonso but had to content with a challenge from him for the rest of the race. Raikkonen was equally lucky, as Fisichella stalled in the pit lane (the second time in two races) to gift the Finn a podium finish. The battle for sixth, seventh and eight also lasted through to the finish line.
With Alonso finishing ahead of him again, Raikkonen's challenge for the Drivers'Championship is looking increasing difficult as he now trails by 26 points with eight races remaining. McLaren clearly have a faster car now, but Alonso sits comfortably on 77, while Raikkonen has a comfortable cushion on 51 points to Michael Schumacher's 43. Meanwhile McLaren have gained some ground on Renault in the Constructors'Championship and now trail by only 15 points, on 87. Ferrari remain in the running with 74, thanks to the 18 points gifted to them at Indianapolis. But they seem way off the pace this season, along with the Williams-BMWs who failed to make any impression in their home race, finishing 11th and 12th.
Full race result from the British Grand Prix (2005)
- Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) McLaren 1hr 24mins 29.588secs
- Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault +00:02.739secs
- Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 00:14.436
- Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 00:17.914
- Jenson Button (GB) BAR 00:40.264
- Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 01:15.322
- Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Ferrari 01:16.567
- Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 01:19.212
- Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 01:20.851
- Felipe Massa (Bra) Sauber 1 lap
- Mark Webber (Aus) Williams 1 lap
- Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Williams 1 lap
- David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull 1 lap
- Jacques Villeneuve (Can) Sauber 1 lap
- Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull 1 lap
- Takuma Sato (Jap) BAR 2 laps
- Tiago Monteiro (Por) Jordan 2 laps
- Christijan Albers (Net) Minardi 3 laps
- Patrick Friesacher (Aut) Minardi 4 laps