Grand
Prix of Spain :: 8th May 2005
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Grand
Prix of Spain :: 8th May 2005 |
Raikkonen
victorious in Spain
The Finn makes his point in dominant style
Having suffered from the bitter disappointment of being forced to retire from the lead of the San Marino Grand Prix two weeks ago, Kimi Raikkonen came to Barcelona with a point to prove.
He did – with a commanding performance he led the race all the way from his P1 grid position to the chequered flag. His searing pace was such that, even during his two pit stops, none of his competitors managed to take the lead.
Local hero Fernando Alonso managed to bring his Renault home in second place – although the French team will be alarmed by the McLaren’s dominating pace here. Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher took third and fourth after what was a close and frequently bitter battle between the two Toyotas.
Giancarlo Fisichella drove the second Renault to an eventual fifth-place finish, passing Mark Webber’s Williams during the closing stages of the race with a committed high-speed move. The Williams team will be relatively disappointed by Webber’s sixth place – the Australian started from second on the grid.
Juan Pablo Monotoya survived an event-filled race to end up in seventh place, taking two much-needed World Championship points. He managed to recover from a spectacular high-speed spin during the early stages of the race, and then an extra pit stop after what seemed to be a fuel-rig problem, then he later suffered the indignity of being lapped by his team mate.
David Coulthard claimed the last World Championship point with eighth place for Red Bull Racing, continuing his impressively consistent form of the season so far.
The biggest loser of the weekend was probably the Ferrari team in general, and Michael Schumacher in particular. After enjoying what looked like a spectacular return to form at San Marino a fortnight ago the team seemed incapable of getting near the pace of the front-runners.
Michael Schumacher briefly climbed as high as second during the first round of pitstops, but then suffered from a left rear puncture and then, three laps later, retired after a left front puncture. Rubens Barrichello got to the end of the race, but in a lowly ninth position.
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