Michael Schumacher hotly pursued his brother after Raikkonen’s departure, but was never able to match the pace of the Williams. This is likely due to the tire as Michelin ranked superior with the heat of the track today.

More drama on lap 43 as Montoya bumped Michael as they battled for 2nd spot. This resulted in Michael spinning off, but did not stall and with the aide of the marshals resumed the race in 6th place. This potentially controversial assistance is legal under the rules as the car was not stalled nor was it pushed back into competition in an area different than where it left the track.

Montoya’s move is being investigated, but at the podium ceremony nothing seemed to be in question. Michael’s luck is phenomenal as David Coulthard had a late race mishap and lost 5th place, adding more points for his championship effort.

The Ferrari of Barrichello finished 3rd helping keep the constructors’ championship remain in Ferrari’s hands. Ferrari now leads Williams by 13 points and leads McLaren by 19. Michael Schumacher retains his drivers’ points lead by 7 points over Raikkonen.

Alonso finished 4th by was almost passed at the line by Michael! 6th place went to Webber whose luck finally improved, with a decent 7th for Button in the BAR. Villeneuve finished out of the points again in 17th. His return to Formula One™ next year continues to be in doubt. The final point goes to Nick Heidfeld in the Sauber. Teammate Frentzen was just behind in 9th ,a good result for the Sauber team. This came about despite their troubles during the practice and qualifying sessions.

Pizzonia took 10th with teammates Firman and Fisichella in the Jordans 11th and 12th. The 2 Minardis of Wilson and Verstappen finished 13th and 14th respectively in a better showing than usual.

The DNF list includes Coulthard/McLaren, Da Matta/Toyota, Villeneuve/BAR, Trulli/Renault, Panis/Toyota and Raikkonen/McLaren.

Next race is France in 1 week.

Article by: Tony Moffett