Kovalainen Spins, Rosberg Grins

For Rosberg the timing couldn't have been better: he now has a two point lead in the Championship and will start tomorrow's race from sixth on the grid, while Kovalainen will start in a lowly fifteenth position.

With only the top six positions earning points in tomorrow's race, Rosberg must now have the driver's seat in the Championship with just two rounds of the series remaining, to be run in Bahrain on 29/30 September.

Rosberg admitted after the race that he was driving with one eye on the Championship: "Yes, this time I was, of course, because I knew that we were in such a good position that I just had to take these points, and that's it.

"My engineer was screaming all the way around 'you stay on the track if you want to think about the Championship!' I just decided to take it easy, and I'm really pleased with the result."

By contrast, Kovalainen had a day he'd sooner forget, noting: "It was not really the best day, but what can you do?

"We took a decision not to pit on lap two because we thought it was going to rain a bit more, so we thought in that case if we pit on lap two we would need to stop again for tyres.

"In the end it was the wrong decision, and then I was trying to take eighth place to get the pole for tomorrow, but unfortunately I made a little error and I lost my car."

Kovalainen admitted that the move was ill-timed, acknowledging that he should have waited a few more corners before attempting to pass Mathias Lauda.

However, he refused to concede that the title was now of reach: "Obviously it's not very good for the Championship, but I can't change it at the moment and I'm not too worried. I'll try again tomorrow, and then in Bahrain.

"If it rains a lot [tomorrow], we might be okay - in qualifying we looked okay, and we might have a chance. Every position is important, but it won't be very easy, obviously."

Rosberg, however, was delighted to move up to the top of the Championship standings, noting: "It feels nice - it's about time, though!

"Since Hockenheim we have been only a couple of points back, and there was so much chaos in the last few races, but I'm really pleased to be leading now.

"It's going to be good for tomorrow, but there's not a lot of points there, and the weather and everything will play a role. I'm looking forward to Bahrain more, where I think we're going to be very strong - I think we're going to be ballistic."