Philosophical Montoya Encouraged by Williams Pace

Juan Pablo Montoya stayed philosophical after losing what looked set to be his first win of the 2003 season in today's Austrian Grand Prix.

Colombian Montoya led the race for his Williams team from lap 24 until his engine blew up eight laps later and he retired. The Williams driver stayed calm despite the retirement and was encouraged by the pace shown by his BMW-powered FW25 car.

"The guys did a great job all weekend, and I'm not angry, what happened was just racing," said the Colombian. "Right from the start we were looking really good and everything was working to plan.

"Even when some drizzle came I was catching Michael (Schumacher) at a rate of two seconds a lap, which I think clearly shows that the FW25 has potential, the team is going in the right direction and the Michelins are working well.

"Then I started losing water pressure and I knew the race was over. A shame, but at least we know we have the potential to win."

German teammate Ralf Schumacher finished in sixth position and, following Fernando Alonso's retirement, he is now the only driver who has finished in the points in all six races.

"After a difficult weekend I have three points in my pocket, which is some compensation," said the German. "I made a few mistakes, but I managed to recover some of the lost ground. The main problem I had in the race was with the balance of the car with the third set of tyres and in particular the fronts which were graining badly."