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More Pictures! |
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 Juan
Pablo Montoya achieved the first victory of the 2003 season for the
BMW WilliamsF1 Team at the Monaco Grand Prix.
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The Race |
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Juan Pablo Montoya achieved the
first victory of the Formula One
2003 season for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team at the
Monaco Grand Prix. It is the sixth victory since the beginning of the team's
partnership which began in 2000. The last victory for the team was at
the 2002 Malaysian GP. WilliamsF1's last Monaco victory dates back to
1983 with Keke Rosberg.
Montoya celebrated the second win of his F1
career after Monza 2001.Ralf Schumacher finished the race in fourth
position. With today's result, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team closed the gap
to rivals McLaren and Ferrari in the Constructors' World Championship.
Montoya and Schumacher are now equal at fifth in the drivers' ranking.
Juan Pablo Montoya's reaction:
Today was the ideal day. The car worked
well, the tires worked well and the team did a fantastic job. We
really needed this. It's fantastic, it's unreal, there were a few
races where I was close to a win and then I just didn't make it, like
in Australia, for example. The key today has been the start, where I
was able to jump in front of Kimi and then I set about widening the
gap from him before my pit-stops. After that it was just a matter of
pacing myself. I was not under too much pressure in the last laps when
Kimi was close behind but I had to be alert. The tires in particular
worked very well and were consistent. Winning in Monaco is very
special, there is no other race like this in Formula One. It is a bit
like winning the Indy 500 in the USA. This is the first time I have
finished the race here since I started racing in F1 and I have won it!
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Juan Pablo and Ralf running one
and two at Monaco |
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It was a fantastic result for the whole
team. Juan did a great job in winning on such a difficult
track. The key to success in this race is downforce and
mechanical grip. I think today we showed how good the car
really is and the tires worked well too. Ralf started well,
had a slow middle stint and made a mistake in the Rascasse in
the last stint but it didn't effect his final finishing
position. However, tonight we will be celebrating with the
whole team and the guys from Michelin.
-Sam Michael, Chief Operations
Engineer |
Ralf Schumacher said:
Obviously it is disappointing to finish fourth
when you start on pole especially on a track like Monaco when being on
pole means more than anywhere else. The balance of my car was for some
reason not ideal after the first pit stop and I could not keep up with
the pace of the leaders. Congratulations to Juan Pablo and the whole
team for the great result.
Of the victory, BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen said:
"This is such a great
result, it feels just so good! This success, including yesterday's
pole position, means further motivation for our team. We have felt
for a while that we are improving, but did not manage to turn it
into results. Juan drove a race without any errors and he kept those
behind him under control. Ralf had a little bit of bad luck after
both his pit stops when each time a car passed him by fractions of a
second. "
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