Juan Pablo Montoya won today’s Italian Grand Prix from pole position but it was his McLaren teammate Kimi Raikkonen who had been the fastest qualifier.
Unfortunately for Kimi he had to change engines before qualifying and so he knew that wherever he qualified he would be moved back 10 grid positions for the race. Under the circumstances he qualified with a heavy fuel load and his fastest lap was nothing short of amazing. Starting from 11th Raikkonen looked like he might just be able to pull off a two stop strategy compared to the usual three stops at Monza but, as usual, he had even more bad luck and had to make an extra pit stop to have a delaminating right rear tyre replaced. Raikkonen eventually finished a credible fourth.
Montoya also suffered tyre problems but, with just a few laps to go, he decided to tough it out and made it to the flag without incident.
The Renaults of Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella split the McLarens and took the other two podium positions.
For the record, not counting the six-car farce at this year’s USGP, this was the first race since the 1981 Dutch GP where all of the field finished the event.
| Position | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juan Pablo Montoya (COL) | McLaren Mercedes | 10 |
| 2 | Fernando Alonso (ESP) | Renault | 8 |
| 3 | Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA) | Renault | 6 |
| 4 | Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) | McLaren Mercedes | 5 |
| 5 | Jarno Trulli (ITA) | Toyota | 4 |
| 6 | Ralf Schumacher (GER) | Toyota | 3 |
| 7 | Antonio Pizzonia (BRA) | BMW WilliamsF1 | 2 |
| 8 | Jenson Button (GBR) | BAR Honda | 1 |
| Fastest Qualifier: Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) | |||