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European Grand Prix :: 29th May 2005

Alonso snatches European win ;
Narain Karthikeyan finishes 16th

Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren must have known that they were taking a massive gamble - the Finn driving as hard as he dared on a disintegrating tyre in the closing stages of the European Grand Prix.

If he wanted a chance of victory he had to press hard, as Championship leader Fernando Alonso was closing on him at serious speed in his Renault. But as he started the final lap it all went disastrously wrong as Raikkonen’s front suspension failed spectacularly, spinning him into the gravel trap and out of the points.

Alonso’s delight, at what had laps before looked like a seriously unlikely victory, was obvious – the Spaniard holding up four fingers to the crowds and television cameras in clear reference to the number of times he’s stood on the top step of the podium already this season. With a Championship lead of 32 points over both Raikkonen and Trulli (now on 27 points), Alonso is now the clear favourite to claim his first Championship at the end of the year.

The searing heat at the Nurburgring made for a fascinating race, with many drivers experiencing a noticeable lack of grip on heavily worn tyres – and many excursions to the circuit’s gravel traps in consequence. The drama began on the very first corner, where Mark Webber and Juan Pablo Montoya collided, forcing Montoya, Ralf and Michael Schumacher to all run wide – with the luckless Webber finding his race already run.

Pole-sitter Nick Heidfeld lost his lead to Kimi Raikkonen on the run into turn one, with the pair then accelerating away from the chasing pack. Heidfeld’s three stop strategy saw him drop behind Alonso during the closing stages of the race, but Raikkonen’s retirement promoted him into a second consecutive second-placed finish: the best result of his career to date.

Strong strategy from Ferrari helped Barrichello to move up to a welcome first podium of the season, three stops allowing him to emerge from his final visit to the pits in clear space. It could have been different, though – David Coulthard finished just 13 seconds behind after a storming race for Red Bull Racing – despite having to take a drive-through penalty after being caught speeding in the pitlane. Without it, he would almost certainly have been on the podium.

Fisichella came home in sixth after starting the race from the pitlane after stalling on the grid, necessitating a second attempt at the start. Montoya emerged in seventh and Trulli taking the final World Championship points. Trulli’s eighth was worthy of mention as he also took a drive-through penalty, punishment for his mechanics failing to clear the grid in sufficient time before the first start.

Tyre wear was obviously a critical issue as the weekend continued, with Felipe Massa forced to pit for a new front tyre and a replacement nosecone after a spectacular tyre failure blew his wing to pieces.

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