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RACE RESULT
1 G Fisichella (Renault)
2 R Barrichello (Ferrari)
3 F Alonso (Renault)
4 D Coulthard (Red Bull)
5 M Webber (Williams)
6 JP Montoya (McLaren)
7 C Klien (Red Bull)
8 K Raikkonen (McLaren)
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McLaren boss Ron Dennis criticised both his drivers after they squandered the chance of a strong result at the Australian Grand Prix.
Juan Pablo Montoya lost a podium place when he ran off the track and finished sixth, while Kimi Raikkonen was eighth after several errors.
"It was character building. We had the pace to win, but that is not the way to go motor racing," Dennis said.
"The only team in front of us whose pace has concerned us are Renault."
Montoya qualified ninth and was battling for a podium place when he made a mistake late in the race which allowed Rubens Barrichello and Fernando Alonso to leapfrog him.
That lost the Colombian the opportunity to pass David Coulthard and Mark Webber.
"Juan Pablo threw away second place," Dennis said. "He went off and got dirt on the tyres. When you do that they cool down very quickly and lose grip."
Raikkonen was the faster of the two McLaren drivers throughout the weekend, but he consistently made errors when it mattered.
He lost a grid position to Montoya in final qualifying on Sunday morning and was then forced to start from the pit lane after stalling on the grid.
Having climbed to 10th place, Raikkonen ran wide and damaged an aerodynamic aid on his car, which slowed him for the rest of the race.
"Kimi's race was effectively over after he stalled the car at the start," Dennis said. "During the race he was hampered by the loss of a deflector which subsequently jammed underneath the car."
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MMIX
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