Rubens: Passing Kimi was hard but fair

The Brazilian was the fastest car on the track, but was held up badly in the early stages of the race thanks to the two Safety Car periods. However, once he found clear air, he was able to hunt down the McLaren ace and, after using his superior traction out of Club to get a run on his opponent, squeezed past heading into Bridge, whilst Raikkonen ran wide off the track.

"I almost lost my nose," said Barrichello of the pass. "I was paying attention because the guy on the inside protecting the line can brake a lot earlier than you think. But I pulled away to the right at the right moment, although I nearly lost my nose at that time.

"It was fair, but it was aggressive. We went into Bridge like there was only one car coming out, but it was fair and it was good."

Raikkonen, who later ran wide to allow Juan Pablo Montoya through for third, agreed that it was a fair manoeuvre. "I knew that he had much better traction out of Club," said the Finn. "I tried to hold him off. I was able to for two corners but then he got inside of me at Bridge. I tried to go round the outside, but I got on the dirty side of the track a little bit and ran slightly wide, and he got past."