2005 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 25 at Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil.

Summary

Juan Pablo Montoya won the race ahead of teammate Kimi Räikkönen. Fernando Alonso finished 3rd and thus became World Champion for the first time, the youngest ever champion at 24 years and 59 days.

Classification

Commentators have judged Renault's qualifying performance as evidence that their "conservative phase" is over. Renault's Pat Symonds has said that the team is not aiming to settle for a simple podium finish, rather they are aiming to win. The BBC's Maurice Hamilton said that "the thought that Fernando Alonso might cruise to the Championship.....was dispelled in the most convincing fashion." McLaren CEO Ron Dennis remained confident of his team's race strategy given Juan Pablo Montoya's strong second position but despite a major error in the qualifying lap of Kimi Räikkönen.

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Lap	Gap
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:11.988	—
2	10	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	1:12.145	+0.157
3	6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1:12.558	+0.570
4	3	Jenson Button	BAR-Honda	1:12.696	+0.708
5	9	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:12.781	+0.793
6	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull-Cosworth	1:12.889	+0.901
7	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:12.976	+0.988
8	16	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:13.041	+1.053
9	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber-Petronas	1:13.151	+1.163
10	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:13.183	+1.195
11	17	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	1:13.285	+1.297
12	11	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-Petronas	1:13.372	+1.384
13	18	Tiago Monteiro	Jordan-Toyota	1:13.387	+1.399
14	7	Mark Webber	Williams-BMW	1:13.538	+1.550
15	8	Antônio Pizzonia	Williams-BMW	1:13.581	+1.593
16	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Cosworth	1:13.844	+1.856
17	19	Narain Karthikeyan	Jordan-Toyota	1:14.520	+2.532
18	21	Christijan Albers	Minardi-Cosworth	1:14.763	+2.775
19	4	Takuma Sato	BAR-Honda	No time
20	20	Robert Doornbos	Minardi-Cosworth	No time	Spin

• As Takuma Sato was subject to a ten-place grid penalty, given for the accident in the 2005 Belgian Grand Prix where he crashed into Michael Schumacher, Sato did not attempt a qualifying lap.
• Jarno Trulli also had a ten-place penalty, in his case the result of an engine change before qualifying. Trulli started from 18th on the grid.

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	10	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	71	1:29:20.574	2	10
2	9	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	71	+2.527	5	8
3	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	71	+24.840	1	6
4	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	71	+35.668	7	5
5	6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	71	+40.218	3	4
6	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	71	+1:09.173	10	3
7	3	Jenson Button	BAR-Honda	70	+1 Lap	4	2
8	17	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	70	+1 Lap	11	1
9	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull-Cosworth	70	+1 Lap	6
10	4	Takuma Sato	BAR-Honda	70	+1 Lap	19
11	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber-Petronas	70	+1 Lap	8
12	11	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-Petronas	70	+1 Lap	20
13	16	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	69	+2 Lap	17
14	21	Christijan Albers	Minardi-Cosworth	69	+2 Laps	16
15	19	Narain Karthikeyan	Jordan-Toyota	68	+3 Laps	15
Ret	18	Tiago Monteiro	Jordan-Toyota	55	Mechanical	11
NC	7	Mark Webber	Williams-BMW	45	+26 Laps	12
Ret	20	Robert Doornbos	Minardi-Cosworth	34	Engine	18
Ret	8	Antônio Pizzonia	Williams-BMW	0	Accident	13
Ret	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Cosworth	0	Accident	14

Notes:

• Villeneuve forced to start from pit lane as penalty for infringement of parc ferme regulations.
• McLaren's first 1-2 finish since the 2000 Austrian Grand Prix.
• After getting involved in an accident at the start of the race, Mark Webber was able to return, over 20 laps behind the leaders, and do some laps, sufficient to position himself fourth in the official practice order for the subsequent Grand Prix, at Suzuka.
• Due to a mechanical failure, this was Tiago Monteiro's only DNF of the 2005 season.

Notes

• Fastest Lap: Kimi Räikkönen; 1m 12.268s on lap 29.
• Lap Leaders: Fernando Alonso 1-2 (2); Juan Pablo Montoya 3-28, 32-54, 60-71 (61); Kimi Räikkönen 29-31, 55-59 (8).
• Last Win: Juan Pablo Montoya