The McLaren-Mercedes team once again dominated the Brazilian Grand Prix by taking the top two spots in Sao Paulo today.  Juan Pablo Montoya, winner of last year's Brazilian GP, took top honors once again, followed by his teammate Kimi Raikkonen. 

But the real story of the day is Renault's Fernando Alonso, who finished third and became the F1's youngest champion at only 24 years of age.  To capture the record, which was set by a 25 year old Emerson Fittipaldi in 1972, Alonso needed to finish in at least third place in any of the three remaining races.  He did so today, earning his place in F1's history books and putting an end to Michael Schumacher's five-year winning streak.

If you didn't see the race, the scene was a familiar one. Montoya, Raikkonen and Alonso all battled for the top positions, with Montoya taking the early lead over Alonso and Raikkonen. After Alonso was forced to pit on Lap 22, Raikkonen moved into second, and then briefly took over first when Montoya went into the pits five laps later.  By Lap 29, Montoya had once again moved into first with Raikkonen following closely behind.  The two Mercedes' drivers easily held onto the top two positions, with Alonso settling for a third place finish and capturing the F1 championship.

Fernando, if you're reading this, congratulations, we wish you the best of luck and we look forward to seeing you in the future.  To the McLaren-Mercedes team, don't worry guys, there's always next year. Oh, and by the way - if you're looking for drivers to race next season, you have my number.

The full press release follows.


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


F1 Sao Paulo: 1-2 Win for McLaren Mercedes



Sao Paulo, Sep 26, 2005

The start: Juan Pablo started second on the grid and accelerated to the first corner behind pole sitter Alonso. Kimi had qualified fifth after a mistake under braking and was third after the opening lap. Due to an accident of Antonio Pizzonia (BMW-Williams) the Safety Car was deployed during the first lap.

The race: After the re-start at the beginning of lap three, Juan Pablo passed Alonso for the lead. When the Spaniard came into the pits for his first refuelling stop on lap 22, Kimi improved to second place. Juan Pablo pitted for the first time at the end of lap 27 (8.2sec) and resumed second behind his team mate. Kimi posted the fastest lap of the race on lap 29 (1:12.263) and made his first stop two laps later (10.0sec). As a consequence Juan Pablo was in the lead again with Kimi in second.

The Colombian pitted again on lap 54 (6.2sec) and dropped from first to second. Kimi came in on lap 59 (5.8sec) and resumed second immediately behind his team mate. After 71 laps, Juan Pablo crossed the finishing line to take his third victory of the year, Kimi came home second.

Comments

Juan Pablo Montoya: "That was a lot of fun. I had a really good fight with Kimi and it was definitely not easy keeping him behind. He came especially close after the second pitstop but not close enough. I got past Fernando at the first corner when the Safety Car came in and then managed to maintain the lead for the rest of the race but it was tough. It's great to win in Brazil for the second time in a row particularly as a lot of Colombian fans come here to support me. I'm so pleased for everybody in the team who have worked so hard that we finally got the one-two which has been so close a number of times this year. I think we definitely deserve the Constructors' Championship and I can't wait for the last two races. Also well done to Fernando."

Kimi Räikkönen: "Congratulations to Fernando but he better be prepared for me and the team to fight him hard for the rest of the season and next year. Today's race was quite difficult and my car was not easy to drive. I carried a bit more fuel than Juan Pablo but I still was not able to get past him in the pitstops and he drove a good race. Of course I'm disappointed that my fight for the Drivers' World Championship is over but we sort of knew it was going happen. I will now focus on winning the Constructors' title for the team and go flat out for the last two races."

Ron Dennis, Team Principal: "A phenomenal and well disciplined race by both Juan Pablo and Kimi. Our strategy meant that our actual qualifying performance was masked as we were running with a lot of fuel. We are delighted to be in the lead of the Constructors' World Championship but are disappointed not to be able to challenge for the Drivers' during the last two races. However today's performance makes us confident that we are in a position to end the season on a high. Apologies to Kimi and Juan Pablo for the missed opportunities this season. Congratulations to Fernando and I'm sure he will be worthy World Champion. Now he has to raise his game as he faces a significant challenge to beat us in the remaining races."

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "A perfect double win and a great achievement by both our drivers and the entire team which put us in the lead of the Constructors' World Championship. Our strategy worked well and gave us the opportunity to use our strong technical package to the maximum. Congratulations to Fernando and Renault for winning the Drivers' World Championship he and Renault deserve it."

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