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Belgium Grand prix - mcamp999 - 12-09-2005
Triumph for Kimi, disaster for Montoya
September 11, 2005
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium - Kimi Raikkonen has won the Belgian Formula 1 GP and forced Spain's championship leader Fernando Alonso to wait at least another two weeks to be crowned World champion.
Raikkonen's McLaren team mate Juan Pablo Montoya pitted with 11 laps remaining, allowing the Finn to take a race lead he then never relinquished and keep alive his slim hopes of winning the title.
Alonso, who needed to out-score Raikkonen by four points to become F1's youngest World champion, was second for Renault and now holds a 25-point lead over the Finn in the Drivers' standings with three races remaining
Alonso now holds a 25-point lead over Finn Kimi Raikkonen
.
Colombian Montoya, who started on pole, was in second place when he made contact with Antonio Pizzonia's Williams while lapping the Brazilian and crashed out with three laps remaining.
AT THE HALFWAY MARK: Juan-Pablo Montoya led the Belgian Grand prix at the halfway stage of the 44-lap race here on Sunday but was under increasing pressure from Toyota's Ralf Schumacher.
The Colombian, who won the Italian GP last week, got off to a good start as his McLaren team mate and championship contender Kimi Raikkonen forced wide at the first corner of a track made slippery after a morning of heavy rain.
Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella also had a disappointing end to his race, in which he was moving determinedly up through the field. The Italian lost control of his car coming out of the Eau Rouge corner on the 11th lap, clipped an inside kerb and spun into the barrier
Juan Pablo Montoya made contact with Antonio Pizzonia's Williams and his race was over
.
He walked away from the crash, seemingly unhurt.
Ralf Schumacher clocked the fastest lap of the race so far in the ninth lap at 1min 56.410 as he moved up from seventh.
BAR-Honda's Japanese pilot Takuma Sato arguably had the best start, jumping from 10th on the grid to seventh on the first lap.
But Sato lost that advantage after his team decided to change the tyres of his and team mate Jenson Button's cars to wets after Fisichella's crash.
Sato then undid Michael Schumacher's good work when he braked too late and clipped the German's rear wing, shunting him off the track and into the gravel for a further collision.
A furious Schumacher immediately exited his car and lent into the cockpit of his Japanese rival for a few choice words – and a clip on his helmet.
"I'm not very happy," said Schumacher, who has had a disastrous season by his own high standards.
By lap 13, Montoya led Sauber's Jacques Villeneuve by 3.8sec but Ralf Schumacher surged a lap later into second place.
Montoya's lead was then cut to less than three seconds, with Raikkonen in third seven seconds off the pace.
Schumacher closes Montoya down further while Renault's Fernando Alonso in fifth fell further behind Villeneuve.
Scot David Coulthard was then forced out on lap 19 after something blew in his engine. – Sapa-Reuters, AFP
RACE RESULTS, STANDINGS
Race
1 Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) McLaren 1hr30min01.295
2 Fernando Alonso (ESP) Renault at +28.394,
3 Jenson Button (GBR) BAR +32.077,
4 Mark Webber (AUS) Williams +1:09.167,
5 Rubens Barrichello (BRA) Ferrari +1:18.136,
6 Jacques Villeneuve (CAN) Sauber +1:27.435,
7 Ralf Schumacher (GER) Toyota +1:27.574,
8 Tiago Monteiro (POR) Jordan +1 lap
9 Christian Klien (AUT) Red Bull +1 lap
10 Felipe Massa (BRA) Sauber +1 lap
11 Narain Karthikeyan (IND) Jordan +1 lap
12 Christijan Albers (NED) Minardi +2 laps
13 Robert Doornbos (NED) Minardi +3 laps
14 Juan Pablo Montoya (COL) McLaren +4 laps
15 Antonio Pizzonia (BRA) Williams +5 laps
Drivers' and Constructors' standings
Drivers
1 Fernando Alonso (ESP) - 111 points,
2 Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) - 86
3 Michael Schumacher (GER) - 55
4 Juan Pablo Montoya (COL) - 50
5 Jarno Trulli (ITA) - 43
6 Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA) - 41
7 Ralf Schumacher (GER) - 37
8 Rubens Barrichello (BRA) - 35
9 Jenson Button (GBR) - 30
10 Mark Webber (AUS) - 29
11 Nick Heidfeld (GER) - 28
12 David Coulthard (GBR) - 21
13 Jacques Villeneuve (CAN) - 9
14 Felipe Massa (BRA) - 8
15 Tiago Monteiro (POR) - 7
16 Alexander Wurz (AUT) - 6
17 Narain Karthikeyan (IND) - 5
18 Christian Klien (AUT) - 5
19 Christijan Albers (NED) - 4
20 Pedro de la Rosa (ESP) - 4
21 Patrick Friesacher (AUT) - 3
22 Antonio Pizzonia (BRA) - 2
23 Takuma Sato (JPN) - 1
24 Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) - 1
Constructors
1 Renault – 152 points
2 McLaren-Mercedes - 146
3 Ferrari - 90
4 Toyota - 80
5 Williams-BMW - 59
6 BAR-Honda - 31
7 Red Bull - 27
8 Sauber-Petronas - 17
9 Jordan - 12
10 Minardi - 7