Montoya Relieved after Tough Race

The tread from Montoya's left rear appeared to be coming away from the tyre - costing the Colombian valuable time and allowing Fernando Alonso to close down on his advantage.

Speaking afterwards, Montoya said he was relieved to have made it to the chequered flag.

"The thing is I could not push, lean on the car or anything," he explained. "I was going as slow as I could.

"I had turned down the engine before and brought it back up to full power and I think it helped me a bit, but I couldn't go any quicker because to go any faster was a big risk to take. With four seconds and two laps to go I thought I should be okay."

The tyre problem came after Montoya complained of being unhappy with the handling of his car after the early stages of the race.

"In the first few laps I pushed really hard and opened up a gap and it felt quite comfortable," he said. "I felt we were going longer than Renault, so it was then just a question of maintaining the gap.

"But the car became oversteery and I never really felt comfortable with it to push hard. One lap it would be fine and the next it would not be good.

"Then in my mirrors I could see the tyre break up a little bit, and in the end it was really bad because there was no grip."

Montoya's second victory of the season helped McLaren close down rivals Renault's advantage in the Constructors' Championship by one point - which provided some consolation after Kimi Raikkonen's frustrating afternoon.

"This result is good for me in the championship," added Montoya. "We only took one point off Renault, but it is better than nothing."