Juan-Pablo Montoya won a thrilling duel with future McLaren-Mercedes team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, to win the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday. The Colombian gave the Williams-BMW team its first and only win of the year.
Juan-Pablo Montoya won a thrilling duel with future McLaren-Mercedes team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, to win the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday. The Colombian gave the Williams-BMW team its first and only win of the year.
Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello finished third in a season-finale characterized by unpredictable weather. Renault’s Fernando Alonso was fourth and although Jenson Button retired with an engine failure after just two laps, his BAR team clinched second place in the constructors’ championship ahead of Renault.
The shape of the race was formed by a pre-start shower, which left teams with a difficult choice about which tyres to use. Most chose intermediate or wet-weather tyres, but Alonso’s decision to go for dry-weather rubber left him in the lead after the other drivers had made their early stops to remove rain tyres.
Montoya and Raikkonen pitted at the same time on lap six, and while the McLaren-Mercedes sneaked out of the pits ahead, the Williams crucially re-passed him into the next corner. Alonso led until the Renault driver made his first pit stop for fuel and fresh dry tyres on lap 18.
Montoya and Raikkonen fought an intense battle for the rest of the race, but the Colombian just managed to hold on to the lead after their final pit stops, despite a brilliant penultimate stint by the Finn.
The McLaren pushed Montoya hard in the closing laps, but the extra power of the BMW engine in the Williams meant Raikkonen was never quite close enough to make a passing move.
Montoya said: “It was a really hard race – I made one mistake and Kimi came right behind me. I thought: ‘Don’t do anything stupid. Keep it all together to the finish.’ And I did.
“It’s been a fantastic four seasons with Williams and to close it all off with a win is unbelievable.”
Barrichello started from pole, but lost the lead at the start to Raikkonen. The Brazilian grabbed it back after four laps, but he delayed his pit stop for dry tyres longer than Montoya and Raikkonen and that cost him.
Alonso, who plumped for a two-stop strategy while his main rivals when for three, faded as the race went on. He was left to fend off a train compromising Takuma Sato’s BAR, Ralf Schumacher’s Williams and Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari in the closing laps.
The Spaniard just managed to hold on, while Ralf Schumacher stole fifth from Sato with two laps to go. Michael Schumacher did not make the progress expected of him after starting 18th following a penalty for changing engines.
Sauber’s Felipe Massa secured the final point. And Jaguar’s final race ended in disappointment when Christian Klien took out team leader Mark Webber.
