British GP: McLaren race notes

Team McLaren Mercedes drivers Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard finished third and fifth respectively in today' British Grand Prix. Kimi had his two pitstops on laps 12 when the safety car came out for the second time and 35 (9.8 seconds). David came into the pits on lap six to fit a new head restraint on his car (28.5 seconds), lap 28 (8.9 seconds) and 47 (7.1 seconds). Kimi reduced the gap in the Drivers' World Championship with one point and now has 62 whilst David is seventh with 33 points. Team McLaren Mercedes is third in the Constructors' rankings with 95 points.

Kimi Raikkonen:

"The most important thing is that we managed to close the gap in the Drivers' World Championship by one point. I made a good start to take second and was able to put pressure on Trulli. I saw the weird guy climbing over the high fence but had already passed when he actually went on to the track. I probably could have finished second, but halfway through my final stint I was really struggling with the balance on my last set of tyres and subsequently lost a lot of time. To make matters worse I lost the rear momentarily braking at Stowe which allowed Montoya to get past. At the end of the day you never know, later in the season the one point we scored today might prove crucial."

David Coulthard:

"Considering my start position we can be pleased with fifth. Obviously an unusual race with this lunatic on the track, but the safety car was deployed quickly. I was able to gain a couple of positions at the start, but things were looking difficult when my head restraint fixings broke. I had to come into the pits at which point the team also changed the strategy. The balance of the car became better during the race so I was able to do some really quick laps at the end, which ultimately helped me to overtake Jarno and claim fifth."

Ron Dennis:

"A great race for the TV viewers and spectators alike. Inevitably there will be criticism as a result of one fanatic's actions, but this sort of thing has happened before in other countries and even in other sports. Nevertheless the safety car deployment is a normal occurrence in modern Grand Prix racing, and I feel that the team responded well to that plus the other challenges of this race and our strategy helped the drivers' achieve their point finishes. Kimi's race was unfortunately handicapped by the performance of his third set of tyres whilst David's starting position certainly made things difficult. That said they both drove outstanding races."

Norbert Haug:

"This was a great race which saw Kimi keeping his Championship hopes alive by finishing ahead of his main competitors. David drove a strong race and coming into our home Grand Prix at Hockenheim, the World Championship is as exciting and open as it has not been for a long time."

David Coulthard: MP4-17D 08
Kimi Raikkonen: MP4-17D 09
T-car (Kimi): MP4-17D 07
Spare: MP4-17D 06

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