Montoya wins Monaco GP !!!!!!


GP Victory for JPM

By Andrew Hooper
June 2 2003

In a change of fortunes for the team BMW WilliamsF1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2003 Monaco Grand Prix. After starting from pole and leading the early stages of the race team-mate Ralf Schumacher would finish fourth after struggling with handling difficulties with his car. Raikkonen was 2nd.

 

 

 
Victory for Montoya at Monaco
 
MontoyaFor BMW WilliamsF1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya he would not only score his second Formula One victory but also claimed victory for WilliamsF1 at Monaco after waiting for twenty years, the last victory been in 1983 with Keke Rosberg.

For team-mate Ralf Schumacher he race would finish with a fourth place but it was a race that saw him comfortably lead the race until the first pit stops when Ralf would suffer from a poorly balanced car which would see him struggle to the finish. At one point he was lucky not to crash into the barriers but he brought his car to a stop and was able to continue.

Schumacher & MontoyaThe race start would only see nineteen starters as BAR's Jenson Button would not make it to the grid after his heavy crash on Saturday. The start would see Ralf lead from a fast starting Montoya, with Raikkonen third.

For Renault's Fernando Alonso he also was able to make up several places at the start, moving from eighth on the grid to pass both Barrichello and Coulthard to move up to sixth. Fifth was Ferrari's Michael Schumacher  behind Renault's Jarno Trulli.

For Sauber's Heinz-Harald Frentzen his race would end as he exited the final turn of the swimming pool complex, crashing into the barriers. This would see  the safety car take to the track as debris was cleared.

The safety car would leave the circuit at the end of lap four. For Jaguar's Antonio Pizzonia his race would finish on lap twelve. Team-mate Mark Webber would also retire five laps later, stopping in the pit-lane after experiencing engine problems.

Ralf SchumacherUp at the front Ralf was leading from Juan Pablo with Raikkonen running close behind the WilliamsF1. But as is the case with Monaco Kimi was not able to challenge Juan Pablo. The same could be said for Juan Pablo who could not get close enough to challenge for the lead.

Of the leaders Ralf would pit on lap twenty one, and from then on fall backwards as he struggled with a car that was now poorly balanced. For Juan Pablo, prior to his first pit stop, he would set out to bring down Ralf's original lead. He would set a lap time of 1m:15.166. This time was faster than that which Ralf has set the pole time with. This would allow the Colombian to return to the track ahead of Ralf.

MontoyaFor third placed Raikkonen his first stop would see come out between the two Williams drivers. For David Coulthard his first stop would see him come out ahead of Alonso. Michael Schumacher would make his first stop on lap thirty one, returning to the circuit ahead of his brother.

After the opening pit stops Juan Pablo led Raikkonen with the Michael and Ralf third and fourth respectively , Trulli was fifth, Coulthard sixth and Alonso and Barrichello seventh and eighth.

The second stop for Juan Pablo would see him lose his lead and despite the best efforts of Raikkonen to reduce Juan Pablo's lead prior to his second pit stop he was unable to snatch the lead from the Colombian after making his pit stop.

Montoya leads RaikkonenThe second stop for Coulthard and Trulli would see them pit at the same time and as they exited their respective pits they would almost collided, with Trulli coming out ahead of David. But with a very quick pit stop Alonso was able to come out ahead of both.

With Juan Pablo leading the race it was now down to Raikkonen to see if he could find a way to either pass Juan Pablo or force him into a mistake. With the lead fluctuating around one second both drivers would complete the closing laps of the race. Behind them Michael Schumacher would start to close in on Kimi but as they started the last lap it was Juan Pablo who would take the chequered flag for a long overdue victory.

Patrick HeadFor Raikkonen second would see him extend his points lead over Michael Schumacher to four. For Ralf he would finish a frustrating fourth. Renault's Fernando Alonso would finish in fifth place ahead of team-mate Jarno Trulli and McLaren's David Coulthard, with Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello claiming the final points-scoring position.

It was a race where both WilliamsF1 drivers had their chances of securing the first victory in 2003 for WilliamsF1 and it was Juan Pablo who was able to secure that vital win for the team. The next race is in Canada, a circuit where the WilliamsF1 team over the last few years has performed well at. Maybe it will be Ralf's turn.

 

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time

1. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1h 42:19.010
2. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) + 0.602
3. M. Schumacher Ferrari (B) + 1.720
4. R. Schumacher Williams BMW (M) + 28.518
5. Alonso Renault (M) + 36.251
6. Trulli Renault (M) + 40.972
7. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) + 41.227
8. Barrichello Ferrari (B) + 53.266
9. da Matta Toyota (M) + 1 lap
10. Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) + 1 lap
11. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) + 2 laps
12. Firman Jordan Ford (B) + 2 laps
13. Panis Toyota (M) + 4 laps

Fastest Lap: Raikkonen, 1:14.545, lap 49

Not Classified/Retirements:

Driver Team On Lap
Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 64
Wilson Minardi-Cosworth (B) 30
Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth (B) 29
Webber Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 17
Pizzonia Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 11
Frentzen Sauber-Petronas (B) 1
Button BAR-Honda (B) DNS

 
 
 
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