2005 Brazilian GP: McLaren one-two, Alonso becomes youngest world champion

At the 2005 Brazilian GP, Juan Pablo Montoya won ahead of his teammate Kimi Räikkönen, giving McLaren a one-two. But for the history books, the man who mattered most that Sunday was the one in third: Fernando Alonso clinched the title early for Renault with third place. Montoya settled the race as early as the restart on lap 3, when he pushed the Spaniard out of the lead.

At the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Alonso took pole position with Montoya alongside him. Behind them were Giancarlo Fisichella in the second Renault and Jenson Button in the BAR. Räikkönen started only fifth after making a big mistake on his qualifying lap, according to Wikipedia. Michael Schumacher lined up seventh for Ferrari.

Further back, penalties shuffled the order: Jarno Trulli (Toyota) and Takuma Sato (BAR) each dropped ten places on the grid after an engine change. Jacques Villeneuve had to start from the pit lane after breaching parc fermé rules.

There was contact before the field even reached the first corner. According to grandprix.com, Antônio Pizzonia got caught between his Williams teammate Mark Webber and David Coulthard in the Red Bull. Pizzonia and Coulthard retired on the spot, Webber limped back to the pits and the Safety Car was deployed. Räikkönen had already passed Fisichella on the opening lap and was running third.

Montoya had been waiting for the restart on lap 3. Heading downhill towards Turn 4, he went past Alonso and took the lead. That move decided the race. Alonso chose not to fight the quicker McLaren, because he was racing for the title, not the win. After ten laps, Montoya was already around four seconds clear of Alonso, according to grandprix.com, with Räikkönen third.

As was typical in the refuelling era, positions were decided in the pits. Alonso was the first of the front-runners to stop for fuel, on lap 22, and initially dropped back. Montoya pitted on lap 28. That left Räikkönen, who had started with more fuel on board, in the lead. According to Autosport, he did not pit until lap 31 and rejoined in second, ahead of Alonso. With his longer first stint, the Finn had got past the Renault without having to attack it on track. During this phase he also set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:12.268 on lap 29, according to Wikipedia.

The leading drivers stopped twice. Alonso made his second stop on lap 48, Montoya on lap 54 and Räikkönen not until lap 59. The Finn then slotted in right behind his teammate but could not find a way past. The lead changes mirror exactly these stops: Montoya led from lap 3, Räikkönen on laps 29 to 31 and 55 to 59, and Montoya again from lap 60 to the flag.

At the finish, Räikkönen was 2.527 seconds behind Montoya, according to Wikipedia. Alonso, in third, was 24.840 seconds adrift.

Besides Coulthard and Pizzonia, who both retired after a crash on the opening lap, two more drivers fell by the wayside:

• Robert Doornbos (Minardi) parked his car with engine failure after 34 laps. According to Autosport, an oil line had broken.
• Tiago Monteiro (Jordan) retired after 55 laps with a technical failure. Wikipedia cites a broken driveshaft. It was the Portuguese driver's only retirement of the season.
• Webber returned to the track after repairs to his Williams, more than 20 laps down. Having completed 45 laps, he was not classified.

There was a gripping fight in the midfield: Rubens Barrichello passed Button at Turn 1 on lap 44 to take sixth place. Michael Schumacher climbed from seventh on the grid to fourth, finishing ahead of Fisichella. Ralf Schumacher took the final point in eighth. Christian Klien in the Red Bull and Felipe Massa in the Sauber came away empty-handed in ninth and eleventh.

Sato gained the most places. Starting 19th because of his penalty, he finished tenth, nine places higher. Villeneuve came through from the back of the field to twelfth, gaining eight positions. According to Wikipedia, Trulli was slowed by a puncture shortly before the end and finished 13th, ahead of Christijan Albers and Narain Karthikeyan.

After the race, Alonso had 117 points and Räikkönen 94. With the final two races in Japan and China still to come, the gap stood at 23 points. Even with two wins, Räikkönen could have clawed back no more than 20 points, so the drivers' championship was decided. Montoya, on 60 points, moved past Michael Schumacher, who also had 60, into third. Fisichella climbed to fifth with 45 points.

In the constructors' championship, the one-two put McLaren on 164 points, just ahead of Renault on 162. According to Wikipedia, it was McLaren's first one-two since the 2000 Austrian GP. You can find the full 2005 standings in our archive.

At 24 years and 58 days, Alonso became the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history at the time. He took the record from Emerson Fittipaldi, who had won the title in 1972 aged 25 years and 273 days. He was also the first Spaniard ever to win the championship. Fittingly, it was in Brazil, Fittipaldi's homeland, that the record passed to the Renault driver. He sealed the title not with a win, but with a controlled third place.

For Montoya, it was the high point of a difficult first season at McLaren. In hindsight, it would turn out to be his seventh and final Grand Prix win. The day in a nutshell: McLaren had the fastest car at Interlagos, but Renault and Alonso took the title.