Montoya breaks his duck with runner-up spot

The Colombian did it in typically sensational style, leaping from 12th to sixth on the first lap and finishing on the podium in only his fifth Grand Prix with Williams-BMW.

The former Champ Car ace was holding Jacques Villeneuve off for third place when Mika Hakkinen's last lap retirement gifted him another step up the podium. But he was never in the same race as the Ferrari and finished 41 seconds down on Schumacher.

It was a pleasing result for the Colombian, who has a Spanish girlfriend and a second home in Madrid.

"It's a great result because I really wasn't expecting to be on the podium today because the car was difficult to drive," he said. "The first few races were very hard but it's been worth waiting for.

"With Jacques behind me I couldn't afford to relax and had to push hard all day long," he added. "It was a very difficult weekend altogether. I never got the car the way I wanted it and it was sliding a lot in the race and making my life a bit difficult."

Montoya built his result on his storming start: "One way or the other I had to move up at the start because I was so low on the grid, so I was quite aggressive and it paid off. I got Jarno (Trulli) in the first pit stop and I just had to keep pushing 100 percent."

Montoya's team mate Ralf Schumacher, the winner of the San Marino GP a fortnight ago, failed to finish after spinning off at Turn 10.

"I was surprised Ralf spun because he has been braking later than me all weekend," said Montoya. "I had a big moment at the same corner actually and after that I decided to ease up a bit."

Montoya leaps to seventh in the drivers' championship on six points, six behind team mate Schumacher, who has 12.