2005 British GP: Montoya takes first win for McLaren

At the 2005 British GP at Silverstone Circuit, Juan Pablo Montoya won from 3rd on the grid. It was his first win for McLaren. Pole-sitter Fernando Alonso finished second in the Renault, with Kimi Räikkönen third after starting from 12th. Montoya effectively decided the race on the opening lap: he passed Jenson Button and then Alonso, and only gave up the lead briefly during the pit stops.

The race took place three days after the terrorist attacks of 7 July in London. A minute's silence was held before the start. On the podium, the top three skipped the champagne spray out of respect for the victims.

The starting grid had already changed on Saturday. Räikkönen had been second in qualifying, but after an engine failure in Saturday morning free practice he received a ten-place grid penalty for the engine change. That promoted Jenson Button in the BAR to the front row alongside Alonso.

Shortly before the start, Button's team-mate Takuma Sato accidentally hit the kill switch instead of an engine settings button, according to grandprix.com. His BAR came to a halt. Race Control started the race anyway and then sent out the Safety Car so the car could be recovered. According to grandprix.com, the Safety Car period lasted just one lap. Sato joined the race from the pit lane and was immediately two laps down.

At the front, Montoya seized his chance. According to grandprix.com, Button and Jarno Trulli got away poorly from the dirty side of the grid. Montoya moved past Button and then attacked Alonso. The sources place the move around Becketts. Montoya himself said he knew he had to get past Alonso before Becketts. That put Montoya in front. Behind him, Rubens Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella overtook the slow-starting Trulli.

The gap between Montoya and Alonso stayed small throughout the race. In the end, the duel was decided by lapped traffic. According to Wikipedia, Montoya made his first stop on lap 21, a lap earlier than planned, because there were slower cars ahead of him. Alonso stayed out until lap 23 but, according to racefans.net, lost time lapping Jacques Villeneuve and David Coulthard. After Alonso's stop, Montoya was only just ahead of him; according to grandprix.com, he was barely in front of the Renault into the first corner. Fisichella, who stopped later, led for two laps in the meantime. From lap 26, Montoya was back in front.

After that, the pair ran nose to tail. By the second stops, Montoya had built a seven-second lead, according to grandprix.com. He pitted on lap 44 and Alonso took the lead. The Spaniard wanted to make the most of his extra laps on a light fuel load but again couldn't find clear air. According to Wikipedia, he lost time lapping Trulli on lap 49. Alonso himself said he had lost two to three seconds behind two cars over six or seven laps. After his stop on lap 49 he rejoined behind Montoya. From lap 50, Montoya led to the flag and won by 2.739 seconds.

According to grandprix.com, Montoya was struggling with understeer. As a result, he couldn't push flat out and above all had to look after his tyres.

Räikkönen had already gained several places by the end of the first stint. Then he was stuck for a long time behind Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari and Trulli. He complained that it was almost impossible to follow the cars ahead through the fast corners. According to racefans.net, he tried to pass Schumacher at Becketts after the restart but couldn't get through. Only the pit stops moved him forward. According to Wikipedia, he was 4th on lap 43 after Button's second stop.

He then owed his podium to Fisichella's misfortune. The Italian was heading for his first podium since winning the season opener in Australia, but stalled the engine as he tried to leave his pit box at his second stop on lap 46. Fisichella blamed the car. Räikkönen took 3rd place, leaving Fisichella with 4th. On the final lap, Räikkönen also set the fastest lap of the race. He finished third, 14.436 seconds behind his team-mate.

Winners of the day:

• Kimi Räikkönen: He finished 3rd from 12th on the grid, nine places higher than where he started. No other driver gained more places.
• Felipe Massa: The Sauber driver went from 16th on the grid to 10th, gaining six places. It wasn't enough for points; he was lapped once.
• Ralf Schumacher: The Toyota driver took the final point in eighth. According to grandprix.com, he was helped by the harder tyre compound, which suited him better than it did team-mate Trulli.

Losers of the day:

• Takuma Sato: Because of his mistake at the start, he started from the pit lane and finished 16th, two laps down. That was nine places lower than his grid position.
• Jarno Trulli: He started 4th, got away badly and finished ninth, out of the points.
• Jenson Button: At his home race, he dropped from 2nd on the grid to 5th.
• Giancarlo Fisichella: Stalling at his stop cost him the podium.

Neither Ferrari was quick enough to fight at the front, but both reached the finish without problems. Schumacher was sixth, Barrichello seventh on a three-stop strategy. Almost every car made it to the end. The only retirement was Narain Karthikeyan in the Jordan, who had to retire after 10 laps with an electrical failure. His team-mate Tiago Monteiro finished 17th, ahead of the two Minardi drivers Christijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher. The Williams drivers Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld were 11th and 12th, with Christian Klien 15th in the Red Bull. All three were lapped.

Alonso scored 8 points for second, Räikkönen 6 for third. That slightly increased Alonso's lead in the 2005 championship standings. He led with 77 points ahead of Räikkönen on 51 and Michael Schumacher on 43. Barrichello was fourth with 31 points, level with Trulli. Montoya climbed five places with the win and was 6th on 26 points, just ahead of Fisichella and Heidfeld on 25 each.

In the constructors' championship, Renault led with 102 points ahead of McLaren on 87 and Ferrari on 74. The double podium brought McLaren closer to Renault.

Analysis: Montoya had moved from Williams to McLaren over the winter and had endured a difficult season up to that point. At Silverstone he won for the British team for the first time – and at its home race, no less. For McLaren, the race showed how fast the car was. Without the engine penalty, Räikkönen could probably have fought for the win. At the same time, it showed why McLaren still couldn't close in on Alonso: once again, an engine failure had cost valuable points. Alonso, by contrast, banked a solid result for his championship lead with 2nd place.