In racing news, my boy Kimi Räikkönen won his second straight Belgian Grand Prix today, edging out his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya and Renault's Fernando Alonso.

Montoya led much of the race before losing the top spot to his teammate during a pit stop.  With three laps to go, Montoya collided with Antonio Pizzonia, allowing Alonso to move into second place while Räikkönen easily took first.

Alonso now leads Räikkönen 111 to 86 in the race for the F1 title.  All Alonso needs is one top three finish in any of the three remaining races to clinch the top spot.

When it comes to sports, you gotta be a fan of the underdog.  Kimi, if you're listening, remember one thing - it's not over 'til it's over.

Check out the full press release and driver interviews below.


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


F1 Spa: Sixth win of the season for Kimi Räikkönen



Spa, Sep 11, 2005

The start:  Juan Pablo started from his second consecutive pole position for McLaren-Mercedes and took an immediate lead from Kimi who qualified second. The Colombian completed the opening lap ahead of his team colleague and they gradually began to pull away from the field.

The race:  On lap 11 an accident to Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) resulted in the safety car being deployed to slow the field. This gave the opportunity for most drivers to make their first pit stops. Juan Pablo came in (10.0sec) and resumed in the lead while Kimi was stationary for 9.3sec and resumed fourth behind Jacques Villeneuve (Sauber Petronas) and Ralf Schumacher (Toyota). On lap 14 the safety car was withdrawn and the race was resumed with Ralf Schumacher moving up to chase Juan Pablo for the lead, but the German driver made another pit stop which allowed Kimi to move back into second place. Juan Pablo made his second stop (7.2sec) at the end of lap 33 while Kimi stayed out until lap 35 before making a 6.2sec stop, emerging just ahead of his team-mate in the lead. On lap 41 Antonio Pizzonia (Williams-BMW) crashed into Juan Pablo as he tried to unlap himself, as a consequence of which the Colombian was pushed off the road, preventing the team from achieving a comfortabale 1-2 victory. Kimi completed the 44 laps, taking his sixth win of the season to equal Alonso's tally.



Comments

Kimi Räikkönen:  "We did what we could today, and I'm thrilled to win here at Spa for the second time in a row. However Juan Pablo's retirement was a real shame and I feel sorry for him and the team as we could have left Spa with so much more as we really deserved a one-two. Everything went well during the race with no real dramas and the car was great. When the safety car came out we took the opportunity to come into the pits and as Ralf was quite a bit lighter at this stage he was able to be in front of me. However I didn't push to look after the Michelin tyres. Consequently when it dried out I was able to really push and caught up with a series' of fast laps. I claimed the lead after the second pitstop as I could stay out longer than Juan Pablo and that was it. However there are mixed emotions as we should have had a one-two today."

Juan Pablo Montoya:  "It's always tough to retire from a race but when it's caused by matters out of your or the team's control it's even harder. As I said in the pole position press conference yesterday I drive for my team. So my disappointment is even greater because as a team we were doing a great job. I now know that Pizzonia was trying to unlap himself on dry tyres and then hit me from behind whilst trying to do so. This was a disappointing end to what could have been the perfect weekend."

Ron Dennis, Team Principal:  "Both drivers put in a faultless performance today which should have given the team maximum points. Kimi claimed his win in a disciplined and controlled manner in very difficult conditions. Juan Pablo was the innocent victim of other people's mistakes but this should not distract from his race which was executed with true team spirit. We of course take some satisfaction from winning eight of the last 11 Grands Prix. As you can imagine we are looking forward to Brazil in a positive frame of mind."

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:  "Congratulations to Kimi on a great win and a perfect performance in the race. This was the almost ideal weekend for the team in which we performed very well in challenging conditions. We had the right strategy and were in control of the race. Unfortunately due to a competitor's mistake we could not take the full benefit of the team's efforts. However Juan Pablo did a brilliant job and didn't put a foot wrong throughout the weekend. I feel sorry for him as the accident was not his fault."

Copyright   2005, Daimler Chrysler AG