Length: 5.338 km
Number of Laps: 58 (309.356 Km)
Best Lap: JP. Montoya - 1'24''770 (2005, Mclaren)
Record Pole: K. Raikkonen - 1'19''146 (2005, Mclaren)
2005 Pole: K. Raikkonen - 1'26''797 (Mclaren)
2005 Podium: K. Raikkonen - F. Alonso - JP. Montoya

However celebrations from his Ferrari team were admittedly reserved due to the complexity of the race and final result.

Crucially Renault’s Fernando Alonso split Massa and his temmate Michael Schumacher across the line and extended his lead in the drivers’ title fight to 12 points.

It was a result for which Schumacher himself had to take the blame as he had clearly been supplied with the fastest car in the field.

First on Saturday in qualifying the German made mistakes to lose pole position, then on Sunday a brief off saw him lose vital time to Alonso and most probably the race victory.

Admittedly, it should also be noted that a safety car early in the race seriously compromised Schumacher.

He and Massa had sprinted off the line and built up a lead of 10 seconds when Toro Rosso’s Tonio Liuzzi spun and stalled on the outside of turn one.

Most of the front-running cars were pulled into the pits and Ferrari were left with the conundrum of which car to service first.

Massa was leading and with regulations not allowing passing under the safety car he was given fuel and tyres first.

Schumacher was stuck waiting behind and could only watch as Alonso drove on by.

Ferrari’s championship position wasn’t all dire though as they closed the gap in the construcors’ battle to Renault to just two points.

Like their rivals, Renault also had a mixed result with Giancarlo Fisichella spinning at the opening turn of the race.

From that moment, despite Fisichella’s fight back to sixth position, Alonso was basically fighting a lone battle.

The team’s principal Flavio Briatore had called the afternoon a ‘damage limitation exercise’ was still seen as a success.

Honda were expected to pose more of a threat after the promising pace shown and Jenson Button’s win in Hungary.

Button and his teammate Rubens Barrichello were quick, but not on the same level as Renault and Ferrari.

Button finished fourth, six seconds back on Schumacher, and Barrichello impressively recovered to eighth after being involved in Fisichella’s turn one shambles.

McLaren also failed to challenge after both cars were hit in the aforementioned incident.

Liuzzi thumped the back of Pedro de la Rosa, then followed suit on Raikkonen puncturing the Finn’s left-rear tyre and damaging the axle.

De la Rosa continued and fought back to fifth. Raikkonen struggled back to the pits but his afternoon ended in the barrier soon after as he struggled to make a turn.

The afternoon was more successful for Toyota who managed to secure two points thanks to the seventh place finish for Ralf Schumacher.

Williams failed to score yet again despite Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg running fourth and sixth at the conclusion of lap one.

Water pressure problems saw Rosberg eventually retire, while Webber just didn’t have enough pace and was over run by his rivals to finish 10th.

Red Bull Racing suffered a similar fate. The afternoon just didn’t come together for the Milton Keynes based team with David Coulthard retiring and Christian Klien finishing 11th.

Individual fates aside though the afternoon in Istanbul was a very good one.

The new circuit, hosting just its second event, provided plenty of over taking and wheel-to-wheel battles.

Next stop his the historic Monza and the Italian Grand Prix.

Ferrari will head in firm favourites however they will still require some luck is Schumacher is to have any chance at getting his championship fight back on track.