F1 flashback: When 2005 Italian GP achieved THIS notable feat for only the second time

The 2005 Italian GP was won by McLaren-Mercedes driver Juan Pablo Montoya - but that's not the main reason this race is remembered.

Juan Pablo Montoya celebrates winning the 2005 Italian GP. (Image: Twitter/@McLarenF1)
By Shayne Dias | Sep 4, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The 2005 Italian GP was the fifteenth race of the 19-race long Formula 1 season. Going to Monza is always seen as a special affair for drivers, given the historic nature of the circuit. The fact that it is among one of the fastest tracks on the circuit also helps. Indeed, Monza is nicknamed ‘The Temple of Speed’ due to the large straights giving drivers plenty of room to hit the throttle. However, the 2005 edition of the Grand Prix is remembered for reasons entirely different. What exactly are those reasons, you ask? Well, that is exactly what we are going to look at right now.

With 16 years having passed since the day the race happened, let us look back at the 2005 Italian GP.

The background

Coming into the race, the main focus was on Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso. The McLaren-Mercedes and Renault drivers were the front-runners to win the world driver’s championship.

Defending champion Michael Schumacher was third, but a title run seemed at best a distant hope at this point. Mathematically he was still in the race, but he needed a significant upturn in fortunes – and for the others to drop points aplenty.

That didn’t seem to be happening any time soon. In qualifying, Raikkonen set the fastest lap and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya was second. However, it was the Colombian who started on pole.

The reason? Raikkonen changed his engine and incurred a 10-place grid penalty. Alonso, who was in third in qualifying, was now starting second.

2005 Italian GP sees no retirements

The race was won by Montoya himself, who led from start to finish and crossed the line more than two seconds clear of Alonso. Up in third was Alonso’s Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella.

Fisichella, it’s worth noting, became the first Italian driver to finish on the podium since Michele Alboreto finished second with Ferrari in 1988.

Raikkonen, who was trailing Alonso in the world driver’s championship, finished fourth. While this did not rule him out of the race, it did leave him with significant ground to make up.

The Finn was on 78 points as compared to Alonso’s 103. Therefore, a lot was left to be done in the final few races in order to win the title for Raikkonen.

Schumacher, who finished in 10th and therefore outside the points (this was when F1 only awarded points till 8th) was now out of the running. This was the first time in five years that Schumacher was not in contention for the title.

Still, one of the biggest stories coming out of the race was that none of the drivers retired mid-race. This was notable because F1 fans are conditioned to expect a few retirements due to either crashes or engine/power failures or tyre punctures.

Yet in this race, everyone crossed the finish line. And this was massively noteworthy because it was only the second time in history this had happened.

Yes, the last time a race featured zero retirements before this one was the 1961 Dutch Grand Prix. Technically, the 2005 US Grand Prix also saw no retirements.

But that race only saw six cars start the race, all of whom were Bridgestone teams. The remaining teams, using Michelin tyres, pulled out due to tyre safety issues that had dominated the weekend.

The aftermath

Raikkonen losing ground to Alonso in this race turned out to be pivotal to the title race. The Finn would go on to register two more wins in the season, yet Alonso won the title with two races to spare.

This meant the 2005 season was the first time since 1998 that a first-time world champion was crowned. 1998 was, of course, the year when Mika Hakkinen took the title in his McLaren-Mercedes.

Raikkonen was seen as the heir apparent to his compatriot, yet would have to wait two more years – and change teams – to win his first and only driver’s championship.

Alonso would follow up the 2005 title with another win in 2006, becoming a two-time world champ in the process. Sadly, that would be the last title he ever won in the sport till date.

Amazingly, both Raikkonen and Alonso are still racing today – although the former is set to retire at the end of this season.





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