German GP: McLaren race notes

Team McLaren Mercedes driver David Coulthard finished today's Mobil 1 German Grand Prix in fifth place. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen retired on lap 62 from 10th place when he spun off at the last corner. Previously Kimi had suffered a puncture on the left rear tyre whilst in fifth place which forced him into the pits. David had his pitstops on laps 29 (7.8 seconds) and 49 (8.6 seconds). Kimi went into the pits on laps 26 (9.2 seconds) and 37 (19 seconds). David is fifth in the Drivers' Championship with 32 points and Kimi is sixth with 17 points. Team McLaren Mercedes is third in the Constructors' battle with 49 points.

DAVID COULTHARD

"A bad weekend compared to Magny Cours, but I think fifth was the best we could do in the circumstances. I gained a few places at the start and then lost a bit of time behind Trulli. Once I got past him it was a matter of keeping the car on the track and hope for reliability. My first set of tyres was blistering a bit so we made a few adjustments in the pitstop. I was then quick in my middle stint compared to the other Michelin runners but really two points was all there was in it today. Now like everybody else in the paddock I look forward to the break."

KIMI RAIKKONEN

"I got a good get away and managed to get ahead of Montoya to claim fourth. We had a great battle where we were side-by-side from turn six until turn 12 but he was quicker than me and in the end he managed to get in front. I was comfortable in fifth place when all of a sudden I had a puncture but managed to get the car back to the pits. However in the process the car incurred some damage to the floor, the bodywork and the brake duct. However I was still able to do reasonably quick lap times. On lap 62 I lost control of the car at the last corner and that was the end of my race."

RON DENNIS

"Even though we chose the appropriate tyre on which to race both drivers still suffered with inconsistent balance throughout. Kimi's tyre failure and the damage inflicted on the left rear braking duct effectively put him out of a points position. David's race was uneventful but a stark contrast to our performance last weekend at Magny Cours. The team will as always focus on the next event - there are still races left to win."

NORBERT HAUG

"A disappointing result at our home Grand Prix. We suffered from blistering tyres and obviously didn't find the right harmony between tyres and chassis. We will get a clearer picture of what went wrong today."

David Coulthard: Chassis 08
Kimi Raikkonen: Chassis 06
T-car (Kimi): Chassis 07

-mclaren-