Juan Pablo Montoya won his second race of the 2003 season by dominating proceedings at Hockenheim this afternoon.

The Colombian took the lead into the first corner, which saw the retirement of Ralf Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Rubens Barrichello after a three-way collision, which deployed the safety car for three laps. Montoya dominated from thereon in and, despite a three-stop strategy, won the race by a colossal 65 seconds.

In doing so, the Williams driver is now second in the Drivers’ Championship on 65 points, just six behind Schumacher. Kimi Raikkonen, meanwhile, is third, a further three points adrift.

Just 12 drivers finished the race, which also saw Justin Wilson, Ralph Firman and Heinz-Harald Frentzen retire in the midst of the first-corner accident. Giancarlo Fisichella retired with just one lap remaining, following an intermittent electrical problem throughout the duration of the event.

McLaren’s David Coulthard finished in a well-deserved second place after starting the race from 10th on the grid, following a tough battle with Michael Schumacher and Jarno Trulli. The Scot changed his strategy to a two-stop, and this played into his hands during the final stint of the race.

Although Schumacher managed to pass Jarno Trulli for second spot, Coulthard followed closely behind and, with just two laps remaining, the Ferrari suffered with a delaminating left rear, which allowed the McLaren to come through to take second place. Schumacher eventually finished in seventh position after an emergency pit stop, earning himself a crucial two world championship points.

Jarno Trulli claimed the final podium position for Renault, having suffered with blistering rear tyres during the closing stages of the race. His team-mate, Fernando Alonso, wasn’t able to match the pace, but still finished fourth ahead of Olivier Panis in the Toyota.

Cristiano da Matta completed Toyota’s successful outing, finishing in sixth spot to claim another three points for the team. Jenson Button finished behind Michael Schumacher, once again out-racing his team-mate, Jacques Villeneuve, who finished just out of the points in ninth.

Nick Heidfeld completed the top ten, with Mark Webber classified as 11th despite his retirement on the final lap when he crashed out of the Stadium section. Nicolas Kiesa completed his debut race for Minardi, whilst team-mate, Jos Verstappen, suffered an engine blow up shortly after his second pit stop.

Today’s result has closed the Drivers’ Championship to just nine points separating the top three, making the remaining four races of the season more critical than ever.