Heikki Kovalainen
Started: 12th Finished: 5th
Championship points: 4 Championship pos: 9th
A faultless race from Heikki, who started the race from 12th on the grid and climbed relentlessly through the field to finish fifth. Elevated to 10th before the Safety Car was withdrawn on lap nine, he tussled in the lower reaches of the top 10, rising to eighth before the second Safety Car stint – to recover debris from the Heidfeld/Trulli crash.
Massa’s retirement elevated him to seventh and he slipped past Barrichello at the second restart to run sixth, then fifth after Kimi’s pitstop on lap 28. Making his sole pitstop on lap 34, he dropped to ninth, but the team’s strategy allowed him to pass two pitting cars and overtake Adrian Sutil to run sixth. He passed Lewis after he ran wide at the exit of Turn 10 to come home fifth.
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“The visibility was unbelievably poor – especially during the first few laps after the Safety Car came in,” Heikki said. “But our pace was good and, during the last laps of the race, I could get close to Rubens – just not enough to start an attack. Our strategy was spot on: finishing higher than fifth was not possible today and I’m very pleased to have scored four solid points without making a single mistake – despite some massive moments!”
Lewis Hamilton
Started: 9th Finished: 6th
Championship points: 4 Championship pos:10th
Lewis rued a missed opportunity to get onto the podium today after spinning twice and losing ground in the middle of the race as he struggled to keep his wet-tyres working properly.
From ninth on the grid, he made an immediate strong charge – enjoying fantastic tussles with Kimi and Trulli to get up to fifth. “It was almost too difficult to drive at the beginning of the race,” Lewis said. “But I found a good pace and had some fun in the opening laps, but unfortunately I destroyed my tyres quite early on.”
Lewis spun at the exit of Turn 10 and dropped to 10th, once again resuming his charge to re-pass Heikki and Trulli to run eighth. Cars stopping during the second Safety Car period moved him to fifth and a ballsy pass of Kimi around the outside of Turn 7 put him fourth. Stopping on lap 33, he dropped to seventh and clambered back to fifth, when he ran wide at Turn 10 and was passed by Heikki. Another spin, at Turn 16, left him seventh. Sutil’s retirement in the closing laps elevated him to sixth at the chequer.
“I made a few too many mistakes today,” Lewis added. “It was very slippery and my front-left tyre was finished long before the end but I still gave it my best. This afternoon was a real struggle but I’m glad I got some points for the team.”
Today’s double-score gives Vodafone McLaren Mercedes eight points, putting us fourth in the constructors’ championship.
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