Monaco GP: McLaren Thursday practice notes

Team McLaren Mercedes drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen finished today's second free practice in third and sixth positions respectively with fastest lap times of 1:16.138 and 1:16.707 on the street circuit of Monaco.

At the end of the first practice when Kimi came out for his first lap of the week a heat shield on his car caught fire and damaged the wire looming which made the engine switch off. The team was able to repair the damage and Kimi could take part in the latter part of the second practice.

Today's running also saw Kimi debuting a new helmet design created especially for the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix. He will wear this helmet for the duration of the weekend.

Juan Pablo Montoya:

"A good start to the weekend for us. We seem to be quite competitive and have definitely made progress but its still early days and this is Monaco after all where anything can happen. I completed the planned programme, and the new parts we have introduced seem to have made a difference."

"The Michelin tyres are working well, so overall we are looking good. I love this track as it's such a challenge and I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the weekend."

Kimi Raikkonen:

"A bit of excitement for me at the end of the first practice. I went out with less than one minute to go to complete an installation lap and a practice start. However there was a small fire which caused some damage -- a bit more than necessary as the Fire Marshalls were hesitant until I took the fire extinguisher myself."

"The team did a great job in making the necessary repairs and I was able to get some running in half way through the second session. I'm pleased with what we have achieved so far and we look competitive, but there is still along way to go."

Ron Dennis:

"An eventful first day of practice due to Kimi's problem. However the team worked really hard and efficiently to rectify the damage caused by the small fire. This place is unique and consequently it's too early to draw any conclusions but we seem to have made progress."

Norbert Haug:

"The team did a great job today getting Kimi's car repaired after a small fire had damaged the wiring loom on the last lap of the first session. The guys managed to send Kimi out half way through the second session. So we could complete his planned programme without any further problems. As usual on Fridays Juan Pablo and Kimi focused on working on the race set up and their lap times looked OK."

Chassis allocation
Kimi Raikkonen: MP4-21 02
Juan Pablo Montoya: MP4-21 05
T-car (Juan Pablo): MP4-21 02

-mclaren-