Difficulty:Medium
Pole Position:
Montoya - McLaren
Race Result:
1st - Klien - Red Bull - 25 Points
2nd - Massa - Ferrari - 18 Points
3rd - Alonso - Renault - 15 Points
4th - M.Schumacher - Ferrari - 12 Points
5th - Montoya - McLaren - 10 Points
6th - Raikkonen - McLaren - 8 Points
7th - Barrichello - Honda - 6 Points
8th - Button - Honda - 4 Points
9th - Rosberg - Williams - 2 Points
10th - Heidfeld - BMW - 1 Point
Highlights:
A mixed weather qualifying session left me 12th for the start of the race. I was easily through Q1 in the dry but a wet Q2 made conditions tricky and I could only manage a time 0.8 seconds slower than 10th. Montoya grabbed pole in a 3 way fight with Massa and Alonso as yet more rain hit in Q3.
Race day and for the time being no rain - but cloudy sky overhead. I purposefully chose to run a long first stint (around lap 23) to give me options with regards the weather. I got away well taking a couple of places and after a few laps was romping away in first. The first stop went hitch free and soon after I was informed by commentator Brundle that the cloud was making way for sunshine and it looked like being a dry race. A relief given my wet weather struggle in Q2.
Annoyingly my team mate Coulthard retired with engine failure after fighting into the points, as did Fisichella for Renault. My second stop went fine and by this point I'd built up a lead of around a minute over 2nd placed Massa. Soon after this the clouds came back and I was told that we could yet see rain in the closing laps.
The rain held off but not long from the end near disaster struck as I collided with a car that was slowing to let me lap. The collision ripped the front wing off but luckily the nose and wheels were okay. I struggled back to the pits in the knowledge that I had a big lead and could afford to stop again to fix the damage. From this point I gathered my composure for the remaining few laps and took the chequered flag. The win leaves the Drivers Championship very tight with 2 points separating myself, Alonso and Schumi.
Video:
Drivers Championship:
1st - M.Schumacher - Ferrari - 52 Points
2nd - Alonso - Renault - 51 Points
3rd - Klien - Red Bull - 50 Points
4th - Barrichello - Honda - 26 Points
5th - Massa - Ferrari - 26 Points
6th - Fisichella - Renault - 20 Points
7th - Button - Honda - 20 Points
8th - Raikkonen - McLaren - 20 Points
9th - Montoya - McLaren - 14 Points
10th - Trulli - Toyota - 10 Points
11th - Coulthard - Red Bull - 6 Points
12th - Heidfeld - BMW - 3 Points
13th - Villeneuve - BMW - 2 Points
14th - Rosberg - Williams - 3 Points
Constructors Championship:
1st - Ferrari - 78 Points
2nd - Renault - 71 Points
3rd - Red Bull - 56 Points
4th - Honda - 46 Points
5th - McLaren - 34 Points
6th - Toyota - 10 Points
7th - BMW - 5 Points
8th - Williams - 3 Points
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