Formula 1
San Marino GP: McLaren race notes
West McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen took second place in today's San Marino Grand Prix whilst team mate David Coulthard claimed fifth. The team adopted a two stop strategy which saw David coming in on laps 21 (9.8 secs) and 45 (7.6 secs) and ...
Published: Apr 22, 2003, 11:57 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
West McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen took second place in today's San Marino Grand Prix whilst team mate David Coulthard claimed fifth. The team adopted a two stop strategy which saw David coming in on laps 21 (9.8 secs) and 45 (7.6 secs) and Kimi on lap 22 (8.6 secs) and 44 (10.4 secs). Kimi maintains his World Championship lead with 32 points ahead of David in second with 19. The West McLaren Mercedes team remains on top in the Constructors' Championship with 51 points.
Kimi Raikkonen:
"I'm pleased with second place and would like to say a big thank you to the team for choosing the right strategy today. I managed to get fifth place at the start and then did everything I could to hold on to that. I must admit I was quite pleased when I saw Ferrari and BMW Williams coming in for their first stops. I had a problem getting the car into gear during the second pitstop, but it didn't cost too much time. Towards the end of the race Rubens put me under a bit of pressure, but I could keep second place and the lead in the Championship."
David Coulthard:
"An encouraging result taking into consideration that our main competition was on three stops which put our qualifying performance into perspective. I made a good start and got past four cars on the run to the first corner, and then it was all about not making any mistakes. I enjoyed the battles throughout the race particularly the ones with Rubens and Ralf, but at the end of the day I paid the price for my low grid position."
Ron Dennis, Team principal:
"Our race performance and ultimate result reflected firstly our starting positions and secondly a marginal disadvantage in one area of our tyres' performance. Inevitably in a tyre war teams enjoy an advantage when their respective Partner gets it right which was certainly the case with Michelin in the first three Grands Prix. That said a good strategy and excellent performances from our drivers gave us some valuable points which sees us maintaining our World Championship lead."
Norbert Haug, Mercedes motorsport director:
"An excellent tactical performance by the team. Our two stop strategy was perfect and helped us to achieve good race results considering our grid positions. 12 points for the West McLaren Mercedes team and eight for Kimi keep us in a good position in our Championship campaign."
David Coulthard: MP4-17D 08
Kimi Raikkonen: MP4-17D 06
T-car (David): MP4-17D 07
Spare: MP4-17D 09
-mclaren-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article San Marino GP: Renault race notes
Next article San Marino GP: Winners' press conference
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Kimi Raikkonen
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
Formula 1
Formula 1
Spanish GP
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Red Bull signs Kimi Raikkonen’s son as junior driver
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
Red Bull signs Kimi Raikkonen’s son as junior driver
More from
Ferrari
Robert Kubica announces exit from AF Corse’s privateer Hypercar in WEC
WEC
WEC
Monza
10 h
Robert Kubica announces exit from AF Corse’s privateer Hypercar in WEC
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
10 h
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Latest news
WEC drivers question lack of full-course yellow after heavy Monza crash
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
1 h
WEC drivers question lack of full-course yellow after heavy Monza crash
Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the Hendrick 5 are who we say they are
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
3 h
Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the Hendrick 5 are who we say they are
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
7 h
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe