Head Says Montoya Had Engine Problems

Williams technical director Patrick Head said today that Juan Pablo Montoya's victory in the Monaco Grand Prix could have been scuppered by an engine problem.

Head revealed that the telemetry suggested a problem with the BMW power unit in Montoya's car and said that the Colombian had been forced to work harder for his second career victory afterwards.

"We had one or two little warnings on the data about a possible problem, so we turned the wick down a bit," Head told BBC Radio 5 Live. "That made him (Montoya) have to work a bit harder."

The win ended Williams 20-year jinx in the principality. After a disappointing start to the season, it also marked the team's first win since Malaysia last year and Montoya's first since the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in 2001.

"It is 20 years since our last win here with Keke Rosberg, which is a hell of a long time," said Head. "We've led it many times since but never got the car home. I'm really pleased. But I'm most pleased for our season because we have under-performed so far this season and I hope we can go on from here and participate a bit more.

"It's up to us to make it go on from here. It's the first race in which we've had a win and a good points finish from both cars so we've got to take it on from here."