The 2005 Chinese Grand Prix Review

China was a race to sum up a season.

The Shanghai race ran to a script that had been played out over the previous 18 races as Fernando Alonso proved his season-long consistency, McLaren proved their season-long fallibility and Renault showed they could step up a gear when they wished to add the Constructors' Championship to his drivers' crown.

The double World Champions admitted being cautious during the latter part of the season to maintain Alonso's points advantage with a consistent finishing record but they threw all they could at the final event, bringing in a special one-race engine, in a bid to prove a point.

Alonso drove as consistently as ever, but with a faster car this time he was able to level the statistics with season-long Championship rival Kimi Raikkonen at seven race wins apiece as Renault knocked down McLaren's claims of being the team of the year.

The Spaniard sang 'We are the Champions' to his team over the radio and said: "It was a good season for us, all through the year. We won all the races at the beginning and then we had some steps in the engine and the car but we didn't take any risks because the gap was far enough to keep the distance.

"We showed here that if we want to put a little more risk, if we want to beat McLaren, we can do it, and I am a little bit frustrated that I only won seven races, the same as Kimi, because I think the car had the potential, as we saw here in the last race, to win 10 or 11 races."

The season-ending Grand Prix encapsulated the way the year has gone for virtually all the teams, from Alonso's consistent cruise to his self proclaimed "easiest win of the year" to outgoing World Champion Michael Schumacher's appropriately disastrous end to a difficult season.

Alonso and Renault have been consistently reliable all season and proved as much again, with the new engine tipping the balance to hand Alonso both the pole position and the victory, while Giancarlo Fisichella was typically unlucky to lose a podium through a penalty for helping his teammate.

McLaren's race also displayed their typical form as Raikkonen set the fastest lap with a time three tenths faster than Alonso, albeit at a time of the race when Alonso was cruising, but was prevented from showing his true pace after being stuck behind first Giancarlo Fisichella, then Felipe Massa, Christian Klien and Ralf Schumacher.

Eventually he took second best to Alonso while Montoya's race was a typical one of strong performance but ultimate failure as he damaged his good work by running over a drain cover. Then, somewhat predictably, his Mercedes engine expired for good measure.

Raikkonen was able to let his hair down at the post-race Red Bull party, but he was still despondent and said: "I tried my best and got fastest lap but in the end it doesn't make any difference. The whole team did the best that they could but the Renault was quicker today so they deserved the Championship this year."

As for Schumacher, he must have been left wondering why he bothered to turn up this season after a bizarre collision with Christijan Albers on his way to the grid left his car badly damaged and then his pride took a heavy knock when he spun out of the race all on his own during the first safety car period.

He still managed to be best of the bad luck boys in the Drivers' Championship as he beat Montoya and Fisichella to third while helping Ferrari to third in the constructors', but the points from victory in the United States were crucial as without them Schumacher would have been fifth and Ferrari fourth behind Toyota.

"This surely was not a season that we can be proud of, and the fact that we came in third in both Championship rankings does not really reflect our performance. Lots of people asked me how long it takes to regain my passion for driving after a screwed up season like this, but it already makes you want to fight back."

Once again it was a case of picking up the pieces to claim a podium for Toyota, who have consistently finished in the points outside of the top three and occasionally dropped in when fortune has favoured them, this time in the form of lucky breaks for Ralf Schumacher during the safety car periods.

Red Bull have been surprising this season and once again they enjoyed a strong points finish, this time through Christian Klien's fifth place, to put their Championship points total up to a very respectable 34, just four points behind last year's runners-up BAR-Honda.

Indeed, it was also a typical race for BAR, too, as Jenson Button claimed points - his tenth consecutive top eight finish - but not enough while Takuma Sato proved erratic when he jumped the start by almost half a second and ended his race early, albeit through no fault of his own this time.

Sauber waved goodbye to the sport with Felipe Massa claiming a points finish with sixth, while the Jordan name went out with a bang when Narain Karthikeyan suffered a dramatic crash, and Minardi ran within a few seconds of the faltering Ferraris before posting a double classified finish in their final race.

With the job well and truly done, Renault's engineers enjoyed an unusual celebration by revving the life out of their outgoing V10 engines. The sound squealed long into the night before the resilient engines finally gave up the ghost. McLaren, you would expect, would not have had to wait so long.

And while many key figures on their way out of the sport reflected on the past as the curtain fell on the 2005 season, there were smiles on the faces of all the team members as they toasted a successful Championship campaign and a potentially prosperous future.

Qualifying

There was no rain to shuffle the order in qualifying this time around but Renault pulled their own surprise in qualifying as Alonso and Fisichella secured their first front-row lock-out of the season, but many believed their cars to be lighter than the McLarens after Raikkonen managed only third.

Montoya held it together to secure a respectable grid spot after starting early in the session but in the race the Renaults suggested their strong single-lap pace was not to the detriment of their speed in the race and Alonso's seventh pole would prove a valuable one.

Alonso described his lap as "perfect" after his team's engineers made continuous changes during practice to improve its handling. The Spaniard was the fastest through the speed trap and set the best time in both the first and last sectors, with second to his teammate Fisichella in the middle.

2. Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) 1:34.401

After struggling with an ill-handling car throughout practice, Fisichella did exactly the job he needed to when he secured his position alongside Alonso, pushing the McLarens off the front row. He lost half a second to Alonso in the first sector but then virtually matched him in the second two to hand Renault their dream result.

3. Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:34.488

McLaren were confident their race strategy was optimised so Raikkonen was not too disappointed to miss out on pole position. He admitted his car was "not perfect" and he was only ninth fastest through the speed trap, 6km/h slower than Alonso, but the second fastest time in the first sector and two third fastest times in the other two were enough to push him well ahead of Button.

4. Jenson Button (BAR-Honda) 1:34.801

Button complained of understeer on his lap so he was surprised to finish on the second row. He was 9km/h slower than the Renaults in the speed trap but still set some fast sector times with no mistakes in each sector to secure a strong grid spot.

5. Juan Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:35.188

Starting second in the session, after Sato, Montoya was always going to struggle to secure a position his car deserved because the team would have fuelled him up for a long first stint. He lost almost half a second to Alonso, three tenths to Raikkonen, in both the first and third sectors but fifth was a commendable performance from the Colombian.

6. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 1:35.301

A strong final sector pulled Schumacher up from a lower spot into a place on the third row. He made a mistake at turn two, which cost him time in the first sector, but he was third fastest through the speed trap and he was happy with his performance.

A tweak to the Red Bull car's aerodynamics hindered Coulthard on his flying lap and although it improved the car it confused him and led to a mistake in the first corner. But he outqualified teammate Klien by seven places thanks to a strong final two sectors.

8. Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) 1:35.610

Barrichello thought he could have been a few places higher up after his last qualifying run for Ferrari. He was three tenths slower than teammate Schumacher but, as with the German, a strong third sector and a fifth fastest time through the speed trap pulled him up the grid.

9. Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) 1:35.723

Schumacher put in a good middle sector but struggled with an understeering car that lacked overall grip. He thought he could have been two tenths quicker on his lap but still outqualified teammate Trulli by around three tenths.

10. Mark Webber (Williams) 1:35.739

Webber pushed too hard on his single-lap run and went straight on at the hairpin, losing three or four tenths in the final sector. It was a shame as he had posted the fifth and eighth fastest times in the first two sectors but he still outqualified Pizzonia by seven tenths of a second.

11. Felipe Massa (Sauber) 1:35.898

After a disappointing practice session, Massa's engineers took a gamble on set-up and it paid off as he outqualified Villeneuve by almost a second. He was relatively consistent throughout the lap and said his lap was "almost perfect" thanks to the improved balance.

12. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:36.044

Trulli's struggles with the TF105B continued and he complained of understeer and a lack of grip, the same complaints made by teammate Ralf Schumacher. Trulli was one of the early runners and he suffered the consequences with a disappointing first sector from which he could not recover.

13. Antonio Pizzonia (Williams) 1:36.445

An early run time hampered Pizzonia and he complained of a dirty track that surprised him with the extent of the grip it failed to provide. He suffered and finished well off the pace of his teammate Webber.

14. Christian Klien (Red Bull) 1:36.472

Klien suffered from a lack of balance on his car. He had a particularly poor first sector and was prevented from running a clean lap because of understeer whenever he tried to turn.

Jordan chose to run Karthikeyan's car extra light to give him a boost to his grid position and a good performance on his single lap run enabled him to finish as top of the backmarkers and outqualify one Sauber, one BAR-Honda as well beating his teammate Monteiro by around 2.5 seconds.

16. Jacques Villeneuve (Sauber) 1:36.788

Villeneuve humbly admitted his lap was "pretty bad" after a pre-qualifying gamble failed to pay off. The Canadian suffered problems in the morning practice and tried to rectify them with a bold change on tyre pressures but the car was no better and he finished well down the order.

17. Takuma Sato (BAR-Honda) 1:37.083

Starting first in the session because of his disappointing performance at the last race in Japan, Sato was always going to be fuelled up as much as possible and because of that and a slippery track he failed to secure himself a strong grid position.

18. Christijan Albers (Minardi) 1:39.105

Understeer hampered Albers' progress on his lap and caused him to make several mistakes, leaving him disappointed despite outqualifying teammate Doornbos by three tenths of a second.

19. Tiago Monteiro (Jordan) 1:39.233

Another driver to make some changes from the morning practice session, Monteiro was surprised his time was so strong as his car was difficult to drive because the team had set it up with a bias towards strong race performance.

20. Robert Doornbos (Minardi) 1:39.460

Doornbos was hampered by a gearbox problem on his car in the morning practice, losing him vital set-up time, and a disastrous final sector, in which he lost around one second left him baffled.

The Race

The race began half an hour early for Ferrari and Minardi when they faced a frantic battle to prepare cars for Schumacher and Albers respectively after one of the most bizarre incidents of the year.

All eyes on the busy grid turned to the big screen television and jaws dropped open as replays confirmed Schumacher and Albers had collided as they made their way to the grid with the German apparently swerving into the Dutch driver.

Schumacher explained: "I was trying to warm up my tyres during the installation lap by driving from side to side. Christijan probably wasn't able to see that and I didn't notice him coming, then suddenly there was a big bang."

Neither driver took the blame, but it appeared Schumacher had drifted into Albers' path and the Minardi driver diplomatically said: "I think everyone saw what happened on the formation lap, it was a shame for both of us."

Albers' car drove straight over the sidepod of Schumacher's, badly crushing the Ferrari, and both drivers were forced to take to their spare cars and begin the race from the pitlane.

Karthikeyan did the same after shooting straight into the pits as the other cars lined up on the grid, claiming the team wanted to check a problem with his car that had developed on his out lap.

Montoya passed Jenson Button's BAR for fourth and David Coulthard slotted into the sixth position left vacant by Michael Schumacher with Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and Webber following in seventh, eighth and ninth.

Trulli jumped Massa to claim tenth and Sato moved from 17th to 12th after rocketing down the outside of the straight but it was clear he had jumped the start and would be later handed a penalty.

Alonso sped into the distance as Fisichella held the two McLarens up behind him, enabling the Spaniard to consistently gain one second per lap as Renault played obvious team tactics chasing the easiest route to the constructors' title.

Sato was called in for a drive-through penalty on lap four but the order remained static otherwise, with Schumacher still stuck behind the Jordan of Monteiro at the back in 16th.

Coulthard was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 17, the same time as Trulli, by which time Alonso was 17.5 seconds ahead of Fisichella with the two McLarens stuck right behind the second Renault.

But on the next lap Montoya ran over a drain cover that had detached and stuck up at turn ten and was forced to pit to check damage on the right front tyre that had gone over the object.

Raikkonen had been fortunate to miss it and said: "I saw it was out of place and next time I came around it was sticking up. I missed it and I guess he ran a little bit wider and hit it so it is unfortunate for him."

Button had stopped when Montoya came in but the safety car then came out while the track marshals fixed the problem, negating the advantage that Alonso had built up and creating frenzied activity in the pits.

Michael Schumacher was the only remaining driver not to rush in for his first fuel stop on lap, Montoya stopping again for fuel, but the German's race lasted little longer as he spun off behind the safety car.

Montoya, because of his two stops, Coulthard, who stopped before the safety car, and Button, who came in quickly after Montoya's incident, all lost out badly and Button claimed a mistake from the safety car had cost him heavily.

He explained: "We pitted and the safety car was in front of us. The safety car should have waved us past, but as it didn't, Montoya sat behind it and that was it so I lost about three places."

The safety car came in at the end of lap 24 with Alonso leading Fisichella and Raikkonen, Barrichello in fourth, Ralf Schumacher fifth, Webber sixth, Button down to seventh and Coulthard eighth.

Alonso set off to build his advantage again as Fisichella slowed to hold up Raikkonen but Renault's tactics changed when Montoya pulled into garage to retire with yet another Mercedes engine failure.

Montoya's departure gave Alonso the chance to ease off and the Spaniard said: "I pushed a little bit in the first part then really turned down the revs because Montoya was out and second and third was enough to win the constructors'."

On lap 30 the safety car came out again after Karthikeyan went wide and smashed into a tyre barrier, ripping off the front, rear and both sides of his Jordan car and spinning back out into the middle of the track.

Karthikeyan remained in his stricken car with little movement but eventually pulled himself out and ran to the side of the track as marshals extinguished the small flames licking around the car.

Karthikeyan said: "I was following Trulli and coming to turn 13 I do not know what happened. The car was on the artificial grass and it sucked me into the wall. It was a very big accident but it could have been worse."

The top four of Alonso, Fisichella, Raikkonen and Barrichello all pulled into the pits for their second fuel fill and Raikkonen was able to make it past Fisichella with a fast stop from the McLaren crew.

The safety car came in again on lap 34, leaving leader Alonso ahead of Ralf Schumacher, Massa and Klien, who had all chosen not to stop under the safety car, and Raikkonen down in fifth ahead of Barrichello and Webber.

Webber pressured Barrichello into a mistake on lap 44 and the Ferrari driver had a big lock-up at turn 14 and ran wide, allowing both Webber and Button through as Massa pitted from fourth.

Barrichello lost a place to Coulthard one lap later at the same corner and said: "My duel with Mark was fun but I was in trouble because I had no grip. I was losing performance from the second safety car period, my tyres were gone."

Klien pitted from third on lap 45, then Barrichello came in on lap 46 and Ferrari technical chief Ross Brawn explained: "A flat spot that was causing a lot of vibration so for safety reasons we changed it."

Ralf Schumacher pitted on lap 47 to hand second place to Raikkonen and the Finn had a 9.4-second gap to Alonso to chase down in the final nine laps, but it was already too late.

"The car just wasn't quick at the start of the race but at the end of the race it got quicker and quicker," said Raikkonen. "It was perfect but it came about 40 laps too late so I was not able to do anything any more.

"After the last safety car the cars in front of me were pulling away a little bit but they were lighter and we knew they needed to stop so I wasn't worried about it.

"But once they pitted it was a bit disappointing to see that I couldn't do anything any more, it was too late to try to catch Alonso, so it was easy for them but that is racing."

Fisichella was handed a drive-through penalty for obstructive driving in the pitlane entry, forcing him to come through the pits at the end of lap 52 and return to the track just behind Ralf Schumacher in fourth place.

"I don't know why the FIA penalised me," said Fisichella. "Raikkonen did the same in Belgium and nothing happened to him, and it was a shame not to be able to celebrate on the podium with Fernando and Flavio."

But the rule had been clarified after that safety car period in Belgium and Raikkonen said: "He was slowing down and then I tried to go round but he was weaving in front of me.

It mattered little as with Alonso well on his way to victory and Montoya out of the reckoning the Championship was already heading to Renault and the race ended with the season-long title challengers appropriately ahead of the field.

Alonso eased home four seconds ahead of Raikkonen and then blew up his engine on his in-lap, causing his car to set on fire in parc ferme, while Raikkonen avoided blowing his up and finished second.

Ralf Schumacher handed Toyota another podium with Fisichella coming home fourth, Klien fifth, Massa sixth, Webber seventh and Button claiming the final point in eighth place. Season over.

Race Results

Pos  Driver        Team                  Time   
 1.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  1h39:53.618
 2.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  +     4.015
 3.  R.Schumacher  Toyota           (M)  +    25.376
 4.  Fisichella    Renault          (M)  +    26.114
 5.  Klien         Red Bull-Cosworth(M)  +    31.839
 6.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (M)  +    36.400
 7.  Webber        Williams-BMW     (M)  +    36.842
 8.  Button        BAR-Honda        (M)  +    41.249
 9.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Cosworth(M)  +    44.247
10.  Villeneuve    Sauber-Petronas  (M)  +    59.977
11.  Monteiro      Jordan-Toyota    (B)  +  1:24.648
12.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)  +  1:32.812
13.  Pizzonia      Williams-BMW     (M)  +     1 lap
14.  Doornbos      Minardi-Cosworth (B)  +     1 lap
15.  Trulli        Toyota           (M)  +     1 lap
16.  Albers        Minardi-Cosworth (B)  +    4 laps

Fastest Lap: Raikkonen, 1:33.242

Not Classified/Retirements:

Driver        Team                  On Lap
Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)    35
Karthikeyan   Jordan-Toyota    (B)    29
Montoya       McLaren-Mercedes (M)    25
M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)    23


World Championship Standing, Round 19:

Drivers:                   Constructors:             
 1.  Alonso        133      1.  Renault            191
 2.  Raikkonen     112      2.  McLaren-Mercedes   182
 3.  M.Schumacher   62      3.  Ferrari            100
 4.  Montoya        60      4.  Toyota              88
 5.  Fisichella     58      5.  Williams-BMW        66
 6.  R.Schumacher   45      6.  BAR-Honda           38
 7.  Trulli         43      7.  Red Bull-Cosworth   34
 8.  Barrichello    38      8.  Sauber-Petronas     20
 9.  Button         37      9.  Jordan-Toyota       12
10.  Webber         36     10.  Minardi-Cosworth     7
11.  Heidfeld       28
12.  Coulthard      24
13.  Massa          11
14.  Villeneuve      9
15.  Klien           9
16.  Monteiro        7
17.  Wurz            6
18.  Karthikeyan     5
19.  de la Rosa      4
20.  Albers          4
21.  Friesacher      3
22.  Pizzonia        2
23.  Liuzzi          1
24.  Sato            1

Fastest race laps: Click here

Pitstop times: Click here

Lap by Lap

Pre-race: Michael Schumacher and Christijan Albers collide during one of the installation laps. Both cars are significantly damaged. The two drivers, who should have started sixth and 18th, return to the pits on foot and their teams rush to prepare spare cars. The stewards pledge to investigate the incident after the race.

Lap 1: World Champion Fernando Alonso gets away briskly from pole position and leads teammate Giancarlo Fisichella into the first right-hander as the Italian fends off Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya. Alonso pulls out 2.1s during the lap. Jenson Button slots into fifth from David Coulthard, Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Mark Webber, Jarno Trulli, Felipe Massa, Takuma Sato (a sprightly start from 17th), Christian Klien, Antonio Pizzonia, Jacques Villeneuve, Tiago Monteiro, Michael Schumacher (who starts from the pits), Robert Doornbos, Albers (who also gets away from the pits) and Narain Karthikeyan, who pits at the end of the final formation lap.

Lap 2: Alonso extends his lead to 2.9s. The McLarens remain on Fisichella's tail.

Lap 3: Alonso laps in 1m34.789s - his lead grows to 3.9s.

Lap 4: Alonso posts a 1m34.722s. He leads by 5.1s. Sato's start is adjudged to have been too sprightly. He serves a drive-through penalty immediately and drops to the tail of the field. Karthikeyan passes Albers for what is now 18th.

Lap 5: Alonso continues to get faster by the lap: 1m34.685s...

Lap 6: ...and 1m34.581s. His lead is now 6.9s. The McLarens continue to be frustrated by Fisichella. Button is drifting slightly in fifth but easing away from Barrichello. The rest remain as they were.

Lap 7: Alonso ups his pace to 1m34.399s. Sato passes Albers.

Lap 8: Sato moves up to 18th, ahead of Karthikeyan. Michael Schumacher remains 16th, 3.1s adrift of Monteiro. The deposed champ is lapping at about the same speed as the 15th-placed Jordan.

Lap 10: Alonso leads by 11.2s after pulling away by another 1.3s. Sato passes Doornbos for 17th.

Lap 11: Alonso sets a new fastest lap: 1m34.168s. His lead grows to 12.5s...

Lap 12: ...and 13.5s.

Lap 13: Alonso goes quicker again: 1m34.000s. He's 14.4s clear. Montoya is all but nudging Raikkonen as they chase Fisichella

Lap 15: Monteiro pits for fuel.

Lap 16: Alonso has 16.5s in hand. Albers refuels.

Lap 17: Alonso's last five laps have all been within a tenth of each other. Coulthard, Trulli and Doornbos pit.

Lap 18: Montoya runs over a loose drainage cover at Turn 10 and pits for a replacement front-right tyre. Button refuels. The safety car is deployed. Sato and Karthikeyan are first to take advantage.

Lap 19: Alonso, Fisichella, Raikkonen, Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Webber, Massa, Klien, Pizzonia, Villeneuve and Montoya - again, this time for fuel - peel in to the pits.

Lap 20: Running behind the safety car, Alonso heads Fisichella, Raikkonen, Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Webber, Button, Coulthard, Massa, Michael Schumacher (yet to stop), Klien, Pizzonia, Villeneuve, Montoya, Trulli, Monteiro, Sato, Karthikeyan, Doornbos and the lapped Albers.

Lap 22: The safety car continues to circulate. Villeneuve runs wide off the track but rejoins, still just ahead of Montoya.

Lap 23: Michael Schumacher spins at Turn Eight while running in the safety car queue. He is the first driver to retire. Monteiro makes a quick pit stop.

Lap 24: Montoya retires to the pits.

Lap 25: Race restarts. Alonso pulls 3.8s clear of Fisichella. Trulli, Karthikeyan, Sato and Doornbos edge ahead of Villeneuve who slips from 12th to 16th. Karthikeyan gains two places during the lap, having also passed Sato.

Lap 27: Alonso and Fisichella are now lapping at similar speed, with Raikkonen 1.1s adrift of the Italian in third. Barrichello has already fallen 3.2s behind the leading trio.

Lap 28: Sato runs wide at Turn 14 and drops behind Doornbos and Villeneuve.

Lap 29: Karthikeyan crashes heavily at Turn 13. The Indian climbs from his car unaided but there is a considerable amount of debris on the track. The safety car is deployed.

Lap 30: Alonso, Fisichella, Raikkonen, Barrichello, Webber, Button, Coulthard, Pizzonia, Trulli, Doornbos and Villeneuve pit.

Lap 31: Alonso leads from Ralf Schumacher, Massa, Klien, Raikkonen and Fisichella (who swap places in the pits), Barrichello, Sato, Webber, Monteiro, Button, Coulthard, Trulli, Villeneuve, Pizzonia, Doornbos and Albers, who comes in to make his second fuel stop.

Lap 35: Race restarts. Alonso pulls 2.7s clear of Ralf Schumacher. Raikkonen runs wide behind Klien and is 5.8s adrift of the leader in fifth. Sato pulls off to retire. Pizzonia posts a 1m50.339s and drops to 14th, behind Doornbos.

Lap 36: Alonso extends his advantage to 3.3s. Raikkonen is now 6.9s in arrears but 2.8s clear of Fisichella. Coulthard passes Monteiro for 10th.

Lap 38: Alonso still has three cars - and 8.4s - between him and Raikkonen. Webber is hustling Barrichello hard in seventh.

Lap 40: Alonso is lapping in the mid-1m34s, comfortably faster than the stranded Raikkonen. Pizzonia repasses Doornbos for 14th.

Lap 43: Klien sets a new fastest lap: 1m33.727s. Villeneuve passes Trulli for 12th.

Lap 44: Massa refuels and drops to sixth. Webber is all over Barrichello. He finally forces the Brazilian into a mistake at Turn 14. As the Ferrari runs wide, Webber and Button gain a place. Barrichello rejoins just in front of Coulthard.

Lap 45: A new fastest lap to Alonso: 1m33.536s. Klien pits and rejoins fifth. Coulthard passes Barrichello for ninth at Turn 14. Pizzonia demotes Trulli to 14th.

Lap 46: Alonso is 4.9s clear of Ralf Schumacher and 13.3s ahead of Raikkonen. Barrichello pits. Villeneuve passes Monteiro for 11th.

Lap 47: Ralf Schumacher pits. Pizzonia passes Monteiro.

Lap 48: Alonso leads Raikkonen by 13.1s, with Fisichella 4.8s further adrift. Ralf Schumacher is fourth from Klien, Massa, Webber, Button, Coulthard, Villeneuve, Pizzonia, Monteiro, Trulli, Barrichello, Doornbos and Albers.

Lap 49: Raikkonen posts fastest lap - 1m33.313s - but is 12.2s behind with seven laps remaining. Stewards announce that an incident involving Fisichella is being investigated.

Lap 50: Fisichella is given a drive-through penalty for obstructive driving at the pit entry when he made his previous stop.

Lap 51: Raikkonen cuts his arrears to 11.3s. Fisichella continues to circulate. Massa is working hard to keep Webber at bay.

Lap 52: Fisichella pits and drops to fourth, behind Ralf Schumacher. Something flies off Albers' car. He slows up and pulls into the pits.

Lap 53: Doornbos passes the slowing Trulli.

Lap 54: Raikkonen laps in 1m33.255s. He trails by 8.3s. Fisichella is catching Ralf Schumacher. Massa and Webber are running as one. Trulli pits.

Lap 56: Alonso wins by 4.0s from Raikkonen to clinch the World Championship for Constructors on Renault's behalf. The Finn sets another fastest lap: 1m33.242s. Ralf Schumacher pips Fisichella to third by 0.7s. Klien, Massa, Webber and Button complete the top eight. Pizzonia stops at Turn Five and retires.