Welcome ladies and gentlemen; I hope you're all having a fantastic Fourth of July weekend.

To kick things off this morning we have a recap of the lone Formula 1 race to hit American soil - the U.S. Grand Prix. As usual, if you have it TIVO'd, read no further; otherwise, keep scrolling for the full recap.

In qualifying, both Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya struggled, earning the ninth and eleventh starting positions on the grid, respectively.

And that just about covers the recap.

Why you ask?

That, ladies and gentlemen, is because after starting from their respective positions, Juan Pablo's MP4-21 touched Kimi's MP4-21 on the second corner of the race, forcing both to retire early.

An unfortunate yet sometimes unavoidable part of racing.

In the end, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher continued his tremendous success this season, edging out teammate Felipe Massa to capture his third win of the season. Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella captured the third spot on the podium, while his teammate and current F1 points leader Fernando Alonso finished the race in fifth.

For more info, keep reading for Team McLaren Mercedes' full race recap complete with driver's interviews.



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F1 Indianapolis: Crash between Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Räikkönen

Indianapolis, Jul 02, 2006
The start: Kimi started the race from ninth on the grid and Juan Pablo 11th. The team had planned a one stop strategy for both cars. In the multiple accident at the second corner Juan Pablo and Kimi touched and they both had to retire.

The race: Following this accident which also involved Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) and Jenson Button (Honda), and after another incident with four cars, the Safety Car was deployed for six laps. Michael Schumacher won the 73-lap-race. Nine cars were classified.

Comments

Kimi Räikkönen: "I made a really good start and was quick off the line. However things got messy at the second corner and Juan Pablo hit me from behind and that was the end of the race. There is no point in blaming anyone as these sort of things happen in racing and especially when you are not at the front. As a team we will now get over the disappointment of today's result and focus on the next race."

Juan Pablo Montoya: "When you start so far back you have to race hard to make up places. Unfortunately it was pretty tight at the start and as everybody braked for the second corner I was being squeezed by one of the Hondas and regrettably I hit Kimi. I'm obviously really upset for the team who have worked so hard the whole weekend as having both cars out on the opening lap is disastrous."

Team Principal Ron Dennis: "We have looked at our data and the footage from various cameras and it's clear that as is often the case with accidents several things happened in close sequence. Heidfeld heavily squeezed Button, who squeezed Juan Pablo. Prior to those cars touching Juan Pablo ran into the back of Kimi who was making every effort to keep out of trouble. Inevitably the team feels intense frustration and disappointment when its cars are eliminated as a result of touching each other. However this was a racing incident and should be treated as such."

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "To lose both cars already at the second corner is obviously a nightmare. Sorry to all the spectators and team members, we all would have loved to contribute to a good race, as we had planned only one pit stop for each driver. We will be testing next week in Jerez in Spain to further increase our performance after the three last races with podium finishes and to get focused for the French Grand Prix.”

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