Australian GP: McLaren race notes

West McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen made his debut for the team by claiming third place in today's Australian Grand Prix and set a fastest race lap of 1:28.541 in the process. A problem with the gearbox, which started early in the race eventually, ended David Coulthard's Australian Grand Prix on lap 33.

Kimi Raikkonen
"It goes without saying that I'm happy with my first ever Formula One podium finish and its great that it happened in my debut race for the West McLaren Mercedes team. I got caught out in the incident at the first corner but managed to get back on the circuit without too much damage to the car. I went into the pits where they put on a new nose and removed some debris from my seat and I re-joined the race in last place. I made my way back up the field to third and was doing what I could to catch Montoya. However after my pit stop I went wide as I rejoined the track and lost me second place."

David Coulthard
"At the start, I managed to find my way through the debris to take the lead. However my car developed a gear box down selection problem and when the safety car pulled in it put itself into neutral which caught me out and I went off the track. I managed to rejoin but the problem continued and eventually the car jammed in sixth gear and that was the end of my race. Obviously I"m disappointed as we would have been in with a good chance today but that is racing and we must now look forward to Malaysia"

Ron Dennis
"Another race of mixed emotions. David"s gearbox problem ultimately took him out of the race which is very frustrating as we had completed 7500 km of on-track testing. However we must take some comfort from Kimi"s excellent drive, fastest lap and third place."

Norbert Haug
"A turbulent start to the Grand Prix season and a super drive by Kimi. Today David's and Kimi's performances showed that the team has the potential to compete at the front of the field. Our engines didn't miss a beat all weekend and we are looking forward to the next Grand Prix."

Chassis
David Coulthard Chassis 02
Kimi Raikkonen Chassis 03
T-car (David) Chassis 01

-mclaren-