Winkelhock enjoys his moment in the sun

The German, making his Grand Prix debut as a replacement for Christijan Albers, pitted after the formation lap and switched to wet weather tyres before a heavy downpour hit the track.

The decision allowed Winkelhock to stay on track while the rest of the drivers pitted, and he managed to complete a couple of laps in the lead before the race was red flag.

His race, however, finished after 15 laps, when he retired with a mechanical failure.

"Starting on wet tyres was a really fantastic decision and that's the reason why I was leading my first Formula One race," said Winkelhock. "To lead a Formula One race is something nobody can take away from you - you have it for your whole life. I am really happy about it - I was leading my home Grand Prix.

"Unfortunately then we had a hydraulic problem and I had to stop. The target for me was to finish, but I know that not getting there was not down to me, so I am really pleased with what I achieved."

Spyker teammate Adrian Sutil also retired from the race when he lost control of his car at the start of the third lap.

"I couldn't hold the car on the wet track and I was just a passenger in the hairpin," he said. "So many people went off there, it was incredible. I just braked and lost the rear and that was it.

"It was a hard impact, but I'm alright, just disappointed. We just have to hope that the next time will be better."