MONACO, 2 June 2003 — Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya claimed the second Formula One win of his career and ended his Williams team’s 20-year Monte Carlo jinx with victory in the Monaco Grand Prix here Sunday.
Montoya, who had not won since Monza in 2001, resisted late pressure from the McLaren of second-placed Finn Kimi Raikkonen to finish just 0.6 seconds ahead.
He delighted Williams team chiefs Frank Williams and Patrick Head by securing their first win around the streets of Monte Carlo since Finn Keke Rosberg, watching here yesterday, in 1983.
Raikkonen extended his championship lead to four points after world champion Michael Schumacher, who closed on the lead pair at the end of the race after starting from fifth on the grid, only finished third for Ferrari.
Montoya’s Williams teammate Ralf Schumacher finished just off the podium in fourth place after starting from pole but recovering from a bump with the barriers during the race. Spaniard Fernando Alonso moved back up to third in the drivers’ world championship behind Schumacher after finishing fifth, one place ahead of his Italian Renault teammate Jarno Trulli.
Scot David Coulthard finished seventh ahead of Brazilian Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello to ensure his McLaren team moved back ahead of the Italian giants in the constructors’ world championship.
Ralf Schumacher had made a clean start from pole position and Montoya claimed second ahead of Raikkonen as the 19-car field —missing Briton Jenson Button after his practice crash — filed through Sainte Devote.
But the safety car came out after Heinz-Harald Frentzen clattered into the barriers at the exit of the swimming pool and damaged the right-hand side of his Sauber on the first lap.
The field was set free again at the end of lap four and the Williams pair immediately made a break from Raikkonen as Schumacher set two successive fastest laps.
Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia, of Jaguar, retired at the chicane on lap 12 and his Australian teammate Mark Webber also pulled out five laps later after initially pitting with a problem at the end of lap 14. Montoya began to push teammate Schumacher hard on lap 21 before claiming the lead when the German pitted for 7.8 secs at the end of that lap and dropped to eighth.
Montoya then set the fastest lap before pitting at the end of lap 23 and came out in front of Schumacher in seventh place. New leader Raikkonen then pitted one lap later and rejoined between the two Williams’ after a stop of 8.9 secs, leaving Trulli at the front ahead of Schumacher’s Ferrari.
Trulli was next to stop, at the end of lap 27, with his teammate Alonso stopping the following lap to leave Schumacher with a relatively clear track to enable him to set a fastest lap of 1min 14.707 secs. Schumacher pitted at the end of lap 30 for a stop of 9.1 secs and slotted back into the race just ahead of his brother Ralf to claim third place, six seconds behind leader Montoya, three behind second-placed Raikkonen.
Minardi driver Jos Verstappen and his British teammate Justin Wilson became the next drivers to retire when they both stopped at the chicane after completing 28 and 29 laps respectively.
Ralf Schumacher was the first of the leaders to make his second stop at the end of lap 48 before his team-mate and race leader Montoya made a rapid stop of 6.7 secs one lap later.
Montoya dropped to third as Raikkonen took over the lead and set the fastest lap to increase the gap to second-placed Schumacher to 17.9 secs before pitting for 8.9 secs on lap 53 and coming out behind Montoya.
Ralf Schumacher, running in eighth place, lost 11 seconds when he hit the barriers at La Rascasse before Trulli and Coulthard pitted together on lap 56 and almost collided in the pits as they headed out in sixth and seventh places.
With 20 laps remaining Michael Schumacher led by 10.3 seconds from Montoya and a further 1.5 seconds ahead of third-placed Raikkonen, with the German the only one of the lead three still to stop. He pitted at the end of lap 59 to hand Montoya the lead again and came out in fifth place behind teammate Barrichello, who pitted on the next lap and dropped further down the field.
