McLaren Mercedes driver Juan Pablo Montoya finished fourth in today's 56 lap Malaysian Grand Prix. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen's race was effectively over when a tyre valve failure on the outlap following his first pitstop caused the right rear tyre to fail and forced him back into the pits. He eventually finished ninth overall but set the fastest lap of the race on lap 22 with 1:35.483. Both drivers were on two stop strategies/ Juan Pablo is fifth in the 2005 Drivers' World Championship with eight points whilst Kimi is 12th with one point. Team McLaren Mercedes is sixth in the Constructors' Championship with nine points.
"We scored some good points and getting from 11th to fourth is quite good, but obviously we want to win," Montoya said. "The race itself was not too bad physically despite the heat. However quite early on I flatspotted my front left tyre, which not only put the car out of balance but also caused a lot of vibration which hampered my vision - things like this make it difficult to get the best out of the car."
Raikkonen commented, "A disappointing end to a race, which looked quite promising immediately after my first stop where I had gained two positions to take fourth. However early on during my outlap a tyre valve failure caused a puncture to the right rear, and I was forced to go almost a full lap in order to get back to the pits. My times during the race showed that I was able to go at the same speed as the leaders. I got past Felipe Massa and closed the gap to Christian Klien and Michael Schumacher, but when I got there it was too late for an attack."
Team chief Ron Dennis added, "A challenging race for everybody. Juan Pablo struggled with a flatspotted tyre and Kimi's race was effectively destroyed when a tyre valve failed. It was disappointing not to be able to take advantage of the durability and pace of our Michelin tyres. On the positive side Kimi's fastest lap and Juan Pablo's fourth place despite his problems are a small but worthwhile consolation, and we are already looking forward to Bahrain. Congratulations to our partner Michelin for a dominant performance in such extreme conditions."
Mercedes Motorsport chief Norbert Haug concluded, "Kimi achieved the fastest lap of the race and had the speed for a podium finish. The valve failure which damaged the tyre prevented this. The gap to the leaders stayed the same during the rest of the race. Juan Pablo scored five points and the team has showed that the reliability and speed are there. We are looking forward to the next races to transform these into good results."
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