Montoya Succeeds Where Champions Failed

Juan Pablo Montoya succeeded where World Champions Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill failed on Sunday and ended Williams's 20-year wait for a Monaco Grand Prix victory.

A generation of Formula One fans have grown up since a Williams driver was last handed the winner's trophy by Prince Rainier after the annual street race in the Mediterranean principality.

That last win in 1983 was provided by Finland's World Champion Keke Rosberg and this time it was a Finn - McLaren's Championship leader Kimi Raikkonen - that Montoya beat to trigger the pit wall celebrations.

"Everybody needed this," said Montoya, summing up the relief of a team that had not won in 22 races and had come under increasing criticism and media scrutiny of late.

The Colombian started on pole last year only to see his hopes fade with an engine failure after 46 laps in a scenario that has become familiar to Williams fans over the years whenever the season's glamour race comes around.

In 2001, he lasted three laps.

Mansell, runaway champion for Williams in 1992, never won in Monaco despite leading the race that year from pole. His bid was slowed by a loose rear wheel.

Hill, whose champion father Graham was known as 'Mr Monaco' for his five wins with BRM and Lotus, never won the race either despite pole position with Williams in 1995. Williams also had pole in 1993 with France's Alain Prost and 1997 with Germany's Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

Tortoise/Hare

With his car unflatteringly compared to a tortoise this year, Montoya turned it into a hare with a faultless display of driving to join the late Brazilian Ayrton Senna, his idol, as a Monaco winner.

He needed it as much as his team, only the second victory of his Formula One career. While it came at the slowest circuit on the calendar, his other was at the fastest - Italy's Monza track in 2001.

"You've got to say that I had quite a few races where I had the chance to win," said Montoya, who started seven on pole last year without winning any of them. "The last one was Melbourne (where he led this year), I threw it away, so there was quite a bit of pressure not to basically make any mistakes.

"I won Monza and now this. It's fantastic. I'm so happy, it's just unreal. It wasn't only bringing this race to Williams but trying to get another win for myself," he said. "I was more concerned about that than Williams, to be honest, but as we are in the same team I guess it was well worth it."

The Colombian, a former CART champion, compared the victory to winning the Indy 500 in 2000.

"It is like the most special race you can win and being the only street course in the championship it is very special. It's a great atmosphere."