The Complete 2006 Chinese GP Review

Michael Schumacher has long made a habit of taking victories that defied all plausibility and left his rivals slack-jawed as they tried to understand how they lost the race despite all the odds apparently being in their favour.

It may be that the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix will turn out to be the last of Schumacher's 'impossible' wins. It was certainly among the most important of his career.

Had this race followed its 'logical' script, Schumacher would have left Shanghai at least six points behind Fernando Alonso and with a vastly reduced chance of ending his career with an eighth championship.

Instead, it is Alonso and Renault whose hopes are fading, for although they remain equal on points in the drivers' standings, their inability to beat Schumacher on a day when they appeared to have him at their mercy does not bode well.

Until mid-race, this was very much Renault's weekend.

Felipe Massa's engine problem in practice and then the Michelin-friendly downpours in qualifying and on race day morning halted Ferrari's recent momentum and suggested that fate was compensating Renault for the injustices of Monza by handing Alonso a golden opportunity to re-establish his points lead.

"Definitely we are too slow and this is very obvious," said Schumacher after qualifying. "In those weather conditions we are simply not competitive. But if it is dry then let's see what we can do. It is difficult to talk about winning it, but it is a long race."

When the rain stopped before the race, a television interviewer asked Pat Symonds if he thought that this would help Schumacher move forward.

"No," Symonds replied with what proved to be misplaced confidence, "because he's on Bridgestones..."

In the event, it didn't need to be completely dry for Ferrari and Bridgestones to get back on terms. Schumacher was surprised at how competitive his package was in the wet early laps, and as soon as conditions improved to mere dampness, he could all but match Alonso.

Crucially, the dry Bridgestones also proved better at getting up to temperature on a still cold and slippery track, and particularly in the wet pitlane exit.

Given that Alonso was in a league of his own at both the start and the end of the race - up to two seconds quicker than the rest of the field - to lose by under four seconds was sickening.

It wasn't just the 10 seconds lost to the stray wheel nut or the 50-odd seconds that his tyre choice errors cost him that denied Alonso victory.

Had he not run wide at Turn 1 on lap 16, had he held Schumacher off for just another lap while struggling in the middle stint, had Fisichella clung on ahead of the Ferrari for just a little longer following the final stops, or had the eleventh hour rain arrived a couple of minutes sooner... Had any of these tiny factors worked out differently, then Alonso's speed advantage was such that he could and probably would have still won.

"We now go to the final races with renewed confidence," said Symonds. "Today showed that the Renault is the fastest car out there. We fully intend to make use of it in the final two races."

The lap times support his stance, although Schumacher stressed that he had been doing enough to protect his lead and look after the car during Alonso's late charge.

After virtually every race since Indianapolis, Renault have spoken in determined and defiant tones about fighting back against Ferrari. Yet still their driver's points lead dwindled away. Now it is gone completely.

That doesn't mean that the title battle is over. But Renault really, really cannot afford a moment's hesitation or the tiniest glitch in the final two races. It doesn't take much to hand a race - or indeed a title - to Schumacher and Ferrari.

Practice

For the first time since Monaco, it was Williams's Alex Wurz who won the battle of the Friday workhorses - the Austrian topping both the dry opening session and the rain-affected afternoon hour.

He was pushed hard by Sebastian Vettel, but ultimately the BMW driver's unbeaten Friday run was ended when Wurz moved ahead by 0.04 seconds in the closing moments.

"I have never driven this circuit, and I attacked it right from the beginning," Wurz said. "The car responded very well, which means the aero update we have brought here is definitely a good step forward."

The result was an ironic way to start the weekend when it became clear that Williams's current - and highly regarded - engine supplier Cosworth would not have a place in Formula One in 2007.

It was Spyker MF1's decision to opt for customer Ferrari power that hastened Cosworth's exit.

The newly-Dutch team (running their patriotic orange colour scheme at a Grand Prix for the first time) also confirmed during practice that they would retain Christijan Albers next season, so his teammate Tiago Monteiro's ninth place on Friday afternoon was a neat way for the Portuguese driver to advertise for future employment.

But Monteiro was upstaged by another habitual backmarker going even quicker, as Franck Montagny shrugged off illness to put his Super Aguri seventh in the practice times.

It was just as well that he did, for race drivers Takuma Sato and Sakon Yamamoto had their preparations badly disrupted by hydraulic and gearbox problems respectively.

Christian Klien's departure and Robert Doornbos's promotion gave Michael Ammermuller the chance to perform Friday duties for Red Bull. He took eighth, seven places clear of the other debutant - his GP2 rival Alex Premat, who became the latest in a long line of MF1 number threes.

The title contenders kept a low profile in fifth and sixth, with Michael Schumacher 0.098 seconds faster than Fernando Alonso.

The Ferrari was still ahead on Saturday morning, this time by 0.172 seconds as Schumacher and Alonso came through to dominate final practice when the track dried following morning rain.

But despite appearing to have a fractional pace advantage over their arch-rivals, Ferrari were the ones under pressure following practice, for Schumacher's tail-gunner Felipe Massa had already earned a ten-place grid penalty for an engine change.

Kimi Raikkonen - the man most likely to infiltrate Schumacher and Alonso's private tussle - made several trips off the road in practice and only ran during the wettest part of the second session, meaning that his potential remained hidden going into qualifying.

Practice round up

Sorted by total laps from all three sessions

Qualifying

Part one

Any questions about the balance of power between the tyre manufacturers in wet conditions were answered pretty bluntly by the Q1 times. The 12 Michelin cars took the top 12 places, and Michael Schumacher trailed his pacesetting title rival Fernando Alonso by a full 3.1 seconds.

Unlike so many rain-hit qualifying sessions, this was not a case of waiting for conditions to improve and then scrambling for times on dry tyres. The fluctuations in rainfall were brief and insignificant, and the track would remain consistently sodden throughout the hour.

Bridgestone's troubles made MF1 and Super Aguri's early elimination even more inevitable than usual, and it would be the Toyotas of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli that joined them after struggling to 17th and 18th places.

Both drivers insisted that they had been on better laps when the red flags flew to remove Tiago Monteiro's parked Spyker from Turn 2, but even if those times had counted, it was hard to see the Toyotas progressing any further than row eight in the conditions.

Despite his mechanical problem, Monteiro would end up starting ahead of teammate Christijan Albers as the Dutchman had his 19th place time disallowed for failing to stop at the weighbridge when instructed.

There was a similar situation at Super Aguri, where Takuma Sato outpaced Sakon Yamamoto by a full five seconds (although Yamamoto was another to feel cheated by the red flag) but would drop behind him having incurred an engine change penalty.

Part two

Vitantonio Liuzzi's fifth place in Q1 had suggested that the rain may give Toro Rosso a chance to transcend their usual limitations, but the slightly wetter conditions of the second segment caught the team out.

"Before that the car had been good but the extra rain meant extra oversteer," said Liuzzi, after demonstrating his point by spinning twice and ending up 14th.

His teammate Scott Speed fared a little better - despite aquaplaning off the track and clanging the barriers on his first flying lap. A quick check in the pits revealed no damage, and Speed rejoined to take a career-best 11th.

"Just getting back out there was a surprise," he admitted.

Down at the senior Red Bull squad, David Coulthard was stymied by some logistical confusion - a broken countdown clock in his car and radio problems meant that he was in the pits when he could have been bidding for a top ten spot - and took 12th, but his new teammate Robert Doornbos made it through in 10th.

The tyre situation accounted for the other three Q2 eliminations. Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg filled row eight in their Williams, while Felipe Massa could not better 13th, and had to resign himself to a ten place drop anyway.

But if anyone was going to defy the odds and drag an inferior tyre into the top ten, it was going to be Michael Schumacher.

In what may have been the last of his legendarily masterful wet weather performances, the retirement-bound German jumped to ninth on his last lap.

This time he was 'only' 1.8 seconds slower than Alonso, who again led the way.

Even when he outbraked himself and went across the Turn 1 run-off area on his first flying lap, Alonso's time was still good enough for 10th.

But he did the job properly at the second attempt, usurping Jenson Button from the top spot by 0.7 seconds.

His teammate Giancarlo Fisichella had flirted even more closely with disaster - with a high speed spin that almost took him backwards into the wall. Not only did the Renault stop just short of contact, but it was somehow able to drive out of the gravel trap that it had travelled quite deeply into.

Fisichella was therefore able to cruise back around and move up to second on his less dramatic second lap. This was clearly Renault's day...

Part three

Alonso's dominance was such that the battle for pole never really materialised.

The championship leader had set a 1:45.338 time while strolling around burning off fuel, but his rivals were incapable of matching it even when running flat-out on new tyres.

When Alonso turned his attention to setting a fast time, he produced a 1:44.360 and took a commanding pole position - 0.6 seconds ahead of teammate Fisichella and 1.2 seconds clear of the best non-Renault.

"It seems that we are really, really comfortable and we took advantage of it," said Alonso. "We approach the race with a lot of confidence, in a strong position, dry or wet."

Having spun in both Q1 and Q2, Rubens Barrichello didn't seem to be an obvious candidate for 'best of the rest' honours, yet he would secure third with a 1:45.503 lap.

His teammate Jenson Button matched Barrichello's time exactly and joined him on row two.

Barrichello then survived a post-qualifying trip to the stewards after McLaren protested that he had impeded Pedro de la Rosa. The officials ultimately took no action, and admitted that Barrichello should have been shown blue flags at the end of the pit lane.

Kimi Raikkonen also complained about traffic after taking fifth, two places ahead of de la Rosa.

The McLarens were split by Schumacher, who dug even deeper into his reserves of heroics to bring a Ferrari/Bridgestone package that had no right to qualify on the front six rows in the wet to sixth on the grid, only 0.272 seconds from third.

He was still over a second behind Alonso, but it was better than the midfield position that had looked likely earlier in the hour.

"We kept the damage within limits and it was as good as we could hope for," said Schumacher.

BMW Sauber had been sceptical about their chances of making the top ten in normal circumstances, but the rain helped Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica to eighth and ninth - the Pole yet to start outside the top ten.

Conversely, Christian Horner felt that Red Bull should have got more out of the session than Doornbos' 10th place given their tyre advantage, but the Dutch driver was far from disappointed - simply revelling in the chance to start a race again.

"It's exciting to get through to the third session and it's good to know I'm going to wake up tomorrow and go racing," said Doornbos.

Qualifying results

The Race

Fernando Alonso's anticipated dominance was apparent as early as the first corner of the race, with the world champion sweeping into Turn 1 comfortably ahead of teammate Giancarlo Fisichella.

The morning rain had eased as the cars formed up on the grid, but the track was still plenty wet enough to favour Michelin's intermediate tyres.

Alonso duly strolled away from Fisichella by up to 1.4 seconds per lap in the early stages, as the Italian found himself under pressure from Kimi Raikkonen.

The fast-starting McLaren drove around both Hondas into the first corner, handed third back to Jenson Button with a big slide further into the sinuous right-hander, but then breezed ahead decisively on the run to Turn 14.

Prior to the race Button had spoken confidently of taking the final podium spot behind the Renaults. That looked increasingly unlikely as the opening stint progressed and he drifted ever further away from Fisichella and Raikkonen, while still edging clear of teammate Rubens Barrichello, who was being pressured by Michael Schumacher.

Already Ferrari and Bridgestone were looking more comfortable in the conditions than their rivals had hoped. On lap eight Schumacher exited Turn 14 faster than Barrichello and snatched fourth.

He was still 22 seconds behind Alonso, but once in clear air Schumacher was able to maintain a similar pace and quickly close in on Button, who he would pass for fourth at the final hairpin on lap 13 as the Honda began to struggle badly with worn tyres.

Moments earlier, Raikkonen had finally made it up to second. He had lost 16.4 seconds to Alonso while following Fisichella, who suggested that his early lack of pace was a consequence of being (marginally) heavier than the other leaders.

Once in clear air, the lightly-fuelled Raikkonen caught Alonso by 0.5 seconds per lap before pitting on lap 16. He may still have featured amongst the lead battle given what was to follow. In the event his potential was never realised, for the McLaren stuttered to a halt two laps after its stop.

"All of a sudden the throttle didn't react correctly and the engine went into safety mode and selected neutral," said Raikkonen.

By this time Alonso's apparently straightforward afternoon was beginning to get difficult. His front tyres were wearing unexpectedly fast, causing a trip over the Turn 1 run-off that cost him four seconds. His pace was still sufficient to maintain an 18 second lead over Fisichella, who now had Schumacher as an ominous shadow.

With the first pit stops approaching and dry tyres not yet on the agenda, most would opt to keep their existing intermediates and allow the tyres to wear down to near slick status, a tactic that has proved productive ever since grooves were introduced.

Schumacher and Fisichella did just that when they stopped on laps 21 and 23 respectively, but Alonso felt that his heavy front tyre wear precluded this possibility, so took on new fronts during his lap 22 stop. That decision would prove pivotal in the race, and perhaps the championship fight, too.

"When you come into the pits and your front left is nearly slick then maybe you have to change because you have to do another 20 laps on it," Alonso explained.

But the new front tyres proved to be a retrograde step - immediately suffering from graining. Renault had anticipated this to an extent, but were caught out by the severity and duration of the problem.

Having regularly lapped in 1:44 in the wetter early conditions, Alonso now found himself struggling to get below 1:47 on an ostensibly faster track, while Fisichella and Schumacher had progressed to 1:43 laps.

Just six laps after his pit stop, Alonso's once seemingly insurmountable lead had shrivelled to absolutely nothing. Fisichella and Schumacher were right on his tail, with the unfortunate Fisichella duty bound to defend on behalf of his now much slower team leader.

Holding station was impractical - it was all Fisichella could to not to plough into the back of Alonso mid-corner. The Renaults swapped positions on the back straight on lap 29, and although Alonso retook the lead at the exit of the hairpin on that occasion, Fisichella moved ahead decisively on the following lap.

Alonso could only resist Schumacher for another four corners before the Ferrari cruised past exiting Turn 3. Ironically the champion's tyre situation then started to improve, but the progress was still relative, as he was now losing two seconds per lap to his peers rather than four seconds.

The race still looked salvageable for Renault. Fisichella established a two second lead over Schumacher, and Alonso remained within 10 seconds - a margin that could perhaps be erased with a perfectly-timed switch to dry tyres.

The midfielders had begun investigating dries as early as lap 24, but with little success. Robert Kubica returned for intermediates after two spins on his out lap, while the Toyotas haemorrhaged even more time and disappeared amongst the Spykers and Super Aguris.

But then Ralf Schumacher started posting new fastest sector times and the teams at the sharp end of the pit lane reached for their dry rubber.

Needing to, in his own words, "find a miracle", Alonso pitted for dries on lap 35. The gamble failed. Not only did an awkward right rear wheel nut cost him an extra 11 seconds in the pit stop, but the switch had proved slightly premature, and he remained two seconds slower than the leaders for several laps before the tyres began working.

The disaster was compounded when Schumacher - who had closed onto Fisichella's rear wing again - pitted for dries a lap sooner than the race-leading Renault.

Although Fisichella emerged from the pits still ahead, he slithered virtually to a standstill in Turn 1 on his cold Michelin dries, and Schumacher sped straight past, taking to the inside kerbs as Fisichella tried in vain to close the gap.

Schumacher then opened out a seven second lead within a single lap, but his margin over Fisichella was about to become irrelevant.

As soon as he found some grip, Alonso began producing startling lap times, up to two seconds quicker than the Ferrari could manage.

Eight consecutive new fastest laps - one of them achieved while passing the co-operative Fisichella for second and simultaneously lapping two backmarkers - brought Alonso to within 12.7 seconds of Schumacher with six laps remaining.

For all Alonso's speed, the mathematics still looked impossible, but that didn't stop him pushing and taking another six seconds out of Schumacher's lead in as many laps.

Then - several frustrating minutes too late for Renault's liking - the rain returned on the penultimate lap.

As the leaders tip-toed to the flag, Alonso got to within three seconds of Schumacher, but it may as well have been three minutes, for the race (and the championship lead) was lost.

Few of his 90 previous Grand Prix victories have left Schumacher as elated as this totally unexpected triumph. He had expected an afternoon of stoic 'damage limitation', yet it was Alonso bearing the steely expression in parc ferme, while Schumacher's celebrations with the Ferrari mechanics went beyond exuberance. There was none of the slightly fatalistic 'end of an era' sentiment that accompanied their Monza embraces - this was unrestrained, triumphant, delight. Plus a degree of shock...

"I thought yesterday that the way the weekend was going it may be one of the unlucky ones again when things don't work out for you," said Schumacher. "But obviously the pendulum of luck has swung the other way around and hit me. I am naturally very delighted about it."

Having gone into ultra-conservative mode after handing second to Alonso, Fisichella eventually finished 44 seconds behind Schumacher, but still nearly half a minute clear of the ultimately somewhat comedic battle for fourth.

Button's rear tyre problems and consequent early first stop would cost him positions not only to the closely following Barrichello and Pedro de la Rosa, but also to Nick Heidfeld, whose strategy worked out perfectly.

A long first stint meant that the BMW's intermediates wore down to their fastest state just as Heidfeld's fuel load was at its lightest. As well as making up for the time lost following the fast-starting Scott Speed for the first seven laps, this allowed Heidfeld to jump both Button and de la Rosa at his first stop, and Barrichello at his second, giving the BMW a comfortable fourth place.

Heidfeld also benefited from his teammate Kubica's misadventures. A first corner brush with Robert Doornbos had sent the Pole down to 21st, from where he made outstanding progress - passing the entire Bridgestone contingent bar Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber within four laps, and then taking the fuel-heavy David Coulthard, who would spend the opening stint being hounded by a queue of cars.

As others pitted, Kubica advanced to fifth, setting a new fastest lap by a whole second and closing to within 10 seconds of Heidfeld despite his early delay. But lap 24 proved far too soon for dry tyres, and a series of excursions plus an additional stop sent Kubica plummeting to 17th. However, on the plus side, at least teammate Heidfeld had no doubts about tyre choice when he stopped a lap later...

In the closing stages Heidfeld started coming back under pressure from Barrichello, Button and de la Rosa. The latter pair had swapped places when de la Rosa spun on his first lap on dries, and Button then quickly gained on teammate Barrichello, whose car was less happy on the drying track.

The battle seemed to be decided in Barrichello's favour when Button oversteered over the grass and fell back behind de la Rosa with eight laps to go, but then came the last gasp rain shower - to Button's delight.

"I was just in my element really," said Button, who rapidly overtook de la Rosa, then pounced on Barrichello as the Brazilian lost momentum after clipping Heidfeld in traffic at the start of the final lap.

Heidfeld was already livid with Christijan Albers after running wide at Turn 14 and losing several crucial seconds while trying to lap the Spyker. Then on the final lap Takuma Sato incurred Heidfeld's wrath by repassing the BMW and then cutting across in front of it on the backstraight, giving Button a golden opportunity to steal fourth under braking.

Just as one Honda passed Heidfeld, the other slithered into the back of him and spun the BMW around. Barrichello - his nose cone now thoroughly deranged - went wide and took de la Rosa with him, but the McLaren was able to rejoin quicker and take fifth.

Heidfeld eventually got going and crossed the line seventh. He then stormed to the Super Aguri pit - where he inadvertently berated the innocent Sakon Yamamoto rather than Sato...

"This was the most disappointing race of my career," lamented Heidfeld, "not only in F1, but in my entire life."

Sato would subsequently be disqualified from 14th for ignoring blue flags, while Albers was given a 25 second time penalty for the same misdemeanour.

Webber might have benefited from this chaos but for two mid-race spins that dropped him away from Button's tail. He ultimately ended Williams' long points drought by recovering to eighth, aided by a collision between Coulthard and Felipe Massa.

Starting at the back with 29 laps' worth of fuel, Massa took his time passing the backmarkers but came alive as conditions improved, setting some very fast laps and rising as high as fifth before his stop.

A slightly premature switch to dries then dropped him back behind fellow one-stopper Coulthard, and Massa's attempt to repass the Red Bull at Turn 14 on lap 45 ended with some vigorous wheel-banging as both ran wide.

The Ferrari pulled off with broken suspension, while Coulthard limped on with steering damage which would cause him to go off the road at the same spot and hand eighth to Webber three laps later.

Jenson Button overtakes Nick Heidfeld in the hairpin on the final lap, and the BMW-Sauber is hit from behind by the Honda of Rubens Barrichello © XPB/LAT

Vitantonio Liuzzi had what Gerhard Berger described as "his usual spin" before fending off Rosberg for 10th - the latter's two stop strategy compromised by his inability to pass the one-stopping Coulthard early on.

Twelfth went to Doornbos, who had to pit for a new front wing after his opening lap incident with Kubica, then made superb progress through the traffic - lapping on a par with the top five at times in the opening laps. He could not maintain that momentum as conditions improved.

The delayed Kubica took 13th, only 7.1 seconds ahead of Sato before his disqualification.

Prior to that late controversy, this had been Super Aguri's best race yet. The fast-starting Yamamoto had held his own ahead of Sato and the Spykers for many laps - Sato even going off the road briefly while trying to pass his teammate. Yamamoto eventually fell to the back after changing to dries too soon, but continued to take the chequered flag for the first time.

Meanwhile Sato raced with the likes of Rosberg and the Toyotas for much of the afternoon and eventually finished a competitive 14th on the road, ahead of Speed, who had tumbled down the order after struggling on both fresh intermediates and dries and taking a couple of trips off the road.

Not all the Bridgestone teams benefited from the improved conditions. The Toyotas were mired with the backmarkers all afternoon and the team's decision to make a single, early, stop and fit dry tyres at the same time left Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli struggling even more.

Schumacher eventually found some speed as the track dried, and was heading back towards the top ten when he stopped with oil pressure problems, 10 laps after pneumatic issues had halted Trulli.

Race results

56 laps; 305.256km;
Weather: Damp.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time
 1.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari              (B)  1h37:32.747
 2.  Alonso        Renault              (M)  +     3.121
 3.  Fisichella    Renault              (M)  +    44.197
 4.  Button        Honda                (M)  +  1:12.056
 5.  de la Rosa    McLaren-Mercedes     (M)  +  1:17.177
 6.  Barrichello   Honda                (M)  +  1:19.131
 7.  Heidfeld      BMW-Sauber           (M)  +  1:31.979
 8.  Webber        Williams-Cosworth    (B)  +  1:43.588
 9.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Ferrari     (M)  +  1:43.790
10.  Liuzzi        Toro Rosso-Cosworth  (M)  +    1 lap
11.  Rosberg       Williams-Cosworth    (B)  +    1 lap
12.  Doornbos      Red Bull-Ferrari     (M)  +    1 lap
13.  Kubica        BMW-Sauber           (M)  +    1 lap
14.  Speed         Toro Rosso-Cosworth  (M)  +    1 lap
15.  Albers        Spyker MF1-Toyota    (B)  +    3 laps
16.  Yamamoto      Super Aguri-Honda    (B)  +    4 laps

Fastest lap: Alonso, 1:37.586

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
R.Schumacher  Toyota               (B)    50
Massa         Ferrari              (B)    47
Trulli        Toyota               (B)    39
Monteiro      Spyker MF1-Toyota    (B)    38
Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes     (M)    19
Sato          Super Aguri-Honda    (B)    DQ


World Championship standings, round 17:

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  M.Schumacher 116        1.  Renault              179
 2.  Alonso       116        2.  Ferrari              178
 3.  Fisichella    63        3.  McLaren-Mercedes     101
 4.  Massa         62        4.  Honda                 73
 5.  Raikkonen     57        5.  BMW-Sauber            35
 6.  Button        45        6.  Toyota                30
 7.  Barrichello   28        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari      16
 8.  Montoya       26        8.  Williams-Cosworth     11
 9.  Heidfeld      22        9.  Toro Rosso-Cosworth    1
10.  de la Rosa    18
11.  R.Schumacher  18
12.  Coulthard     14
13.  Trulli        12
14.  Webber         7
15.  Villeneuve     7
16.  Kubica         6
17.  Rosberg        4
18.  Klien          2
19.  Liuzzi         1

Team-by-Team

Alonso and Fisichella dominate wet qualifying and claim their first front row sweep since Canada. They run one-two early in the race as well, but then severe front tyre wear convinces Alonso to take on new intermediates at his first stop and he loses up to four seconds per lap as they grain. Fisichella and Schumacher move ahead, and Schumacher subsequently passes Fisichella as he leaves the pits following his final stop. Alonso loses even more time with a wheelnut problem when he changes to dries, but then mounts a superb charge, passing Fisichella for second and getting to within 3.6 seconds of Schumacher.

Verdict: A massive missed opportunity.

Raikkonen spends much of practice off the road and qualifies a quiet fifth, while de la Rosa lines up seventh after being inadvertently blocked by Barrichello. An early charge on a light fuel load takes Raikkonen to second before his first stop, but he retires with throttle problems soon afterwards. De la Rosa battles the BMWs and Hondas, losing time with a spin on his out lap but then taking fifth in the last lap scramble.

Verdict: Could have been the ones to benefit from Renault's problems had Raikkonen not retired.

A difficult start to the weekend, with Massa requiring an engine change (he qualifies 13th before the penalty) and Bridgestone proving inadequate in Saturday's rain. Schumacher's sixth on the grid is an amazing achievement in the circumstances. Slightly better weather brings him into contention on Sunday - he quickly charges onto Fisichella's tail and then passes the struggling Alonso. Superior strategy and driving then sees him sweep past the helpless Fisichella and into the lead after the final stops, and despite Alonso's recovery charge he takes a remarkable and totally unexpected win. Massa makes steady progress through the field but retires after colliding with Coulthard while racing for eighth.

Verdict: One of the most remarkable - and important - victories in their long history.

Trulli and Schumacher struggle badly in wet qualifying, but insist that an ill-timed red flag in Q1 is the main reason for their 17th and 18th positions. They remain near the back in the race, choosing to make a very early switch to dries and fill up with fuel at the same time. At first this plunges them further towards the back, but then Schumacher in particular starts gaining ground with some very competitive lap times as the track dries. He ultimately retires with an oil pressure problem, 10 laps after Trulli drops out having lost pneumatic pressure.

Verdict: Even considering Bridgestone's problems, Toyota shouldn't have struggled that badly.

A slightly better weekend starts with Wurz quickest on Friday and ends with Webber scoring another point at last. There's frustration in between, as Bridgestone's wet weather issues leave Webber and Rosberg 15th and 16th in qualifying. Webber is much more competitive in the race and fights for points throughout. Two spins delay him, but he passes the hobbled Coulthard near the end and secures eighth. Rosberg spends too long behind Coulthard early on, struggles to get up to speed on dries and then suffers graining later on. Finishes 11th.

Verdict: Signs of progress.

Barrichello and Button set identical qualifying times and share the second row of the grid. They expect a clear run at the podium, but both are passed by first Raikkonen, then Schumacher in the early laps. Button slumps with rear tyre problems in the mid-stages, while Barrichello establishes himself in fifth. As it dries, Button starts attacking his teammate, but runs wide and falls to seventh. He thrives in the last minute shower, though, passing three cars in two laps and taking fourth. Barrichello tangles with Heidfeld and falls to sixth.

Verdict: Not quite the Hungary repeat they might have hoped for, but still a useful points haul.

The newly promoted Doornbos is pleased to qualify 10th, while miscommunication leaves Coulthard 12th. Doornbos damages his front wing tangling with Kubica at the start and has to pit. He recovers impressively - setting some very strong lap times early on - and ultimately takes 12th. Coulthard uses a one-stop strategy to good effect, although he spends much of the opening stint with cars queuing up to pass him. Progresses to eighth, but a tangle with Massa damages his steering and he subsequently falls behind Webber.

Verdict: Two strong drives in different circumstances, ending a run of rather anonymous races.

Vettel is only second quickest on Friday this time, and Heidfeld and Kubica feel that the rain flattered them as they qualify eighth and ninth. Kubica falls to the back after a startline touch with Doornbos, then mounts a superb recovery charge - passing the whole midfield, setting several fastest laps and reaching the top six before becoming the first to gamble on dry tyres. Two spins prove that it's too soon, and he immediately swaps back to intermediates. The delay relegates Kubica to a 13th place finish. Heidfeld uses a long first stint to move up to fifth, then takes fourth from Barrichello at the final stops. Delays in traffic then allow the Hondas back onto his tail, and he ends up being spun down to seventh in a messy final lap incident.

Verdict: Incidents at both ends of the race deprived them of a possible double top five.

Lots of off-track news - a new livery, the Ferrari engine deal, Albers' new contract and another string of new third drivers to try out - but a low-key weekend on track. Albers qualifies 19th but is put to the back for missing the weighbridge, Monteiro has mechanical problems in Q1 and is only 20th. They run at the back throughout the race, with Albers finishing three laps down after a blocking penalty and Monteiro spinning out.

Verdict: Being outshone by Super Aguri will hurt.

Liuzzi's fifth place in Q1 hints at a strong performance, but they slump in the wetter Q2, with the Italian dropping to 14th. Speed's 11th place is impressive considering he hit the barriers on his first flying lap, however. The American jumps to eighth early in the race, but struggles for grip for most of the afternoon - both on new intermediates and on dries. Falls back to 14th by the end. Liuzzi has a single spin on the way to 10th, narrowly ahead of Rosberg.

Verdict: Disappointing that they didn't snatch some points in the quirky circumstances.

Montagny's seventh place in practice gets the weekend off to a good start, although Sato and Yamamoto take their usual 21st and 22nd positions in qualifying. They nearly tangle when Sato tries to pass his fast-starting teammate early in the race, but both survive and Sato goes on to finish a competitive 14th - having raced with Toro Rossos, Toyotas and Williams at various times. He is then disqualified for blocking. Yamamoto drops back after a tyre choice error, but scores his first F1 finish in 16th.

Verdict: An unfortunate end to their best weekend yet.

Lap-by-Lap

Pre-race: With the track still wet following morning showers, the field comes to the grid on intermediate tyres.

Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber) spins at the start of the race © LAT

Lap 1: On pole position for the sixth time this season - and the 15th in his Formula One career - Fernando Alonso makes a brisk start to lead teammate Giancarlo Fisichella into Turn 1. He pulls 2.6s clear by the end of the lap.

Kimi Raikkonen works his way past Honda teammates Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello to run third. Button lies fourth, having passed Barrichello at the start.

Michael Schumacher settles into sixth ahead of Pedro de la Rosa, the fast-starting Scott Speed, Nick Heidfeld, Vitantonio Liuzzi, David Coulthard, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg, Jarno Trulli, Ralf Schumacher, Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica (who appears to run wide at Turn 1), Sakon Yamamoto, Takuma Sato, Tiago Monteiro and Christijan Albers (who was sent to the back of the field for failing to respond to a mandatory pit lane weight check during qualifying).

Robert Doornbos, who started alongside Kubica, pits to have some minor damage repaired.

Lap 2: Alonso extends his lead to 3.9s. Kubica passes R Schumacher and Massa to move up to 15th.

Lap 3: Alonso leads by 5.3s. Kubica passes Trulli for 14th.

Lap 4: Alonso continues to pull away and is now 6.1s clear. Third-placed Raikkonen is 1.1s adrift of Fisichella. Kubica moves up to 13th, ahead of Rosberg.

Lap 5: Alonso sets a new fastest lap: 1:44.747.

Lap 6: The gap between the Renaults has stabilised a little, at 6.8s.

Lap 7: Not any more it hasn't: Alonso is 7.8s clear. Webber passes Coulthard for 11th. Massa runs onto the grass at Turn 16.

Lap 8: M Schumacher passes Barrichello for fifth, Heidfeld wrests eighth from Speed and Kubica dispenses with Coulthard. The Pole is now 12th.

Lap 9: M Schumacher sets a personal best but is still 0.7s slower than Alonso, who leads Fisichella by more than 10s. Webber passes Liuzzi for 10th. Massa takes 16th from R Schumacher and Doornbos moves up to 21st, ahead of Albers.

Lap 10: Massa and Doornbos gain more ground, passing Trulli and Monteiro respectively.

Lap 11: Raikkonen is all over Fisichella. Massa passes Rosberg for 15th.

Lap 12: Alonso laps in 1:44.658. Kubica moves ahead of Liuzzi, Massa passes Coulthard. Doornbos passes Sato after the latter slithers over the grass at Turn 2.

Lap 13: Fisichella loses second to Raikkonen, who is 16.4s adrift of the leader. M Schumacher passes Button for fourth. Webber wrests ninth from Speed. Doornbos is up to 18th, ahead of Yamamoto.

Fernando Alonso runs wide in the first turn © XPB/LAT

Lap 14: Fastest lap to Raikkonen: 1:44.095. Massa passes Rosberg.

Lap 15: Button pits. Kubica passes Speed.

Lap 16: Alonso runs wide and loses almost four seconds... but his closest adversary pits to refuel at the end of the lap. The Spaniard remains comfortably in front.

Lap 17: Alonso leads Fisichella by 19.2s. Barrichello and de la Rosa pit. M Schumacher runs third ahead of Raikkonen, who is now almost 40s behind the leader.

Lap 18: Yamamoto pits. Kubica passes Button. Massa moves ahead of Speed.

Lap 19: Raikkonen slows up and pulls off to retire. M Schumacher is now just 0.6s behind Fisichella. Liuzzi spins at Turn 2 and loses several places.

Lap 20: Kubica passes de la Rosa to take seventh. Massa is up to ninth at Button's expense. Rosberg pits.

Lap 21: M Schumacher and Webber pit.

Lap 22: Alonso pits and takes on fresh front tyres.

Lap 23: Fisichella pits: no fresh tyres for him. Alonso resumes the lead. Kubica laps in 1:42.072: the best of the race so far.

Lap 24: Alonso leads Fisichella by 10.6s. Kubica, Speed and R Schumacher all pit. Kubica opts for dry tyres.

Lap 25: Kubica spins at Turn 8 - one of several adventures during the lap. Heidfeld pits. Kubica comes back in for wet rubber and struggles to stop in his pit. Leader Alonso is lapping several seconds more slowly than Fisichella or M Schumacher.

Lap 27: Alonso continues to struggle. Fisichella is only 3.0s adrift... and M Schumacher is closing fast.

Lap 28: The top three are as one... despite M Schumacher losing time behind the lapped Trulli. Doornbos pits.

Lap 29: Fisichella leads briefly... but Alonso repasses. Massa and Coulthard pit.

Lap 30: Fisichella takes the lead.

Lap 31: M Schumacher passes Alonso for second. Fisichella leads by 1.4s. Barrichello is fourth from Heidfeld, de la Rosa, Button, Webber, Massa and Liuzzi, who pits.

The right rear wheel nut stuck on Alonso's second pitstop © Reuters

Lap 32: Fisichella laps in 1:31.960. M Schumacher and Alonso set personal bests. Rosberg pits for dry tyres.

Lap 33: Fisichella laps in 1:41.742 and is getting away. De la Rosa goes faster still: 1:41.690.

Lap 34: Fisichella continues to accelerate: 1:41.322. Webber spins at Turn 2 and pits for dries. Button pits too. Ferrari brings Massa in for dries.

Lap 35: M Schumacher laps in 1:40.997. Alonso comes in for dry tyres... and is delayed by a jammed right rear.

Lap 36: The top two are less than a second apart. De la Rosa pits. Alonso is down to sixth, almost a minute in arrears. R Schumacher sets the race's fastest lap: 1:40.396.

Lap 37: De la Rosa spins. Barrichello and Doornbos pit.

Lap 38: Monteiro, 18th, spins into retirement at Turn 1.

Lap 39: Coulthard pits.

Lap 40: M Schumacher pits for dries - and almost loses control as he rejoins. Heidfeld comes in, too, as does Kubica.

Lap 41: Fisichella pits for dries and rejoins with his lead intact... just, but M Schumacher slices straight by him at Turn 1. Massa laps in 1:39.880.

Lap 42: M Schumacher leads Fisichella by 7.6s. Alonso, 22.9s adrift, laps in 1:39.400. Massa posts a 1:39.397.

Lap 43: Alonso posts a 1:39.160, 1.3s quicker than the leader: he is 21.7s adrift with 13 laps to go.

Lap 44: Alonso laps in 1:39.157: another 1.7s gained.

Lap 45: Alonso is down to 1:38.525: he's 0.7s quicker than the leader this time. Massa hits Coulthard and retires with suspension damage.

Lap 46: M Schumacher laps in 1:42.071, Alonso in 1:38.442: the gap is 15.4s.

Lap 47: Alonso laps in 1:38.412: 14.1s to go, but he only has nine laps.

Nick Heidfeld limps his BMW-Sauber toe finish line and 7th place points after a last lap incident © Reuters

Lap 48: Alonso passes Fisichella - and despite lapped traffic posts a 1:38.353. The gap is 13.7s. Coulthard runs wide and loses eighth to Webber.

Lap 49: Alonso laps in 1:37.586: the gap is 12.6s. Chasing teammate Barrichello for fifth, Button runs wide at Turn 10. He loses sixth to de la Rosa. R Schumacher pulls into his pit garage to retire.

Lap 50: M Schumacher laps in 1:38.553 and stabilises his advantage.

Lap 51: It begins to rain. Alonso takes another second out of the leader.

Lap 52: Alonso closes to within 9.7s. Speed spins.

Lap 53: The top two are now 8.8s apart.

Lap 54: Two laps to go: 7.8s to make up. Heidfeld, fourth, runs wide while lapping Albers. Button takes sixth from de la Rosa.

Lap 55: It's raining quite heavily on some parts of the track. Alonso remains 6.6s adrift.

Lap 56: M Schumacher wins by 3.1s to tie the championship on points. Fisichella takes third. Button passes Barrichello for fifth on the final lap... and then gets Heidfeld, too.

Barrichello tries to pass Heidfeld as they get among lapped cars, but taps him into a spin. De la Rosa capitalises to take fifth, from Barrichello, Heidfeld, Webber, Coulthard and Liuzzi.