The slippery surface of the Nurburgring saw several drivers in trouble since the start of the Grand Prix weekend. Complaints about the lack of grip and the poor balance of the car were the most common for most of the three days. In the end, there was only one driver who had no reasons whatsoever to complain.

The Grid

1. Michael Schumacher
First Qualifying: 1:28.278; Second Qualifying: 1:28.351

As it turned out, Schumacher was carrying fuel to complete only eight laps of the race. That said, however, his qualifying performance demonstrated he would have been untouchable even with more fuel onboard. The World Champion was set to take revenge after the Monaco disaster and was determined to secure his fifth pole of the season. And what a way to do it. Schumacher toyed with his rivals in practice, only to storm to the top of the times when it mattered, completing what he said was a perfect lap to clinch pole by over six tenths of a second.

2. Takuma Sato
First Qualifying: 1:27.691; Second Qualifying: 1:28.986

Sato continued with his progression towards the right end of the field, taking full advantage of the competitiveness of the BAR-Honda package. The Japanese driver looked like a threat to Schumacher's superiority after topping the timesheets in pre-qualifying, and as impressive as his performance was, the BAR driver was still miles away from the Ferrari star. Even so, Sato's performance received kudos after becoming the first Japanese driver to qualify on the front row of the grid.

3. Jarno Trulli
First Qualifying: 1:29.905; Second Qualifying: 1:29.135

The fact that he was unable to speak for most of the weekend did not stop Trulli from continuing with his impressive run of qualifying, and race, performances. The Renault driver, fresh from scoring his first Formula One pole at Monaco, surprised himself with his third place on the grid. In doing so, he also outqualified his teammate Alonso for the fifth time in seven races.

4. Kimi Raikkonen
First Qualifying: 1:28.897; Second Qualifying: 1:29.137

Right from the start of the weekend, it was obvious that McLaren were looking better than they had looked in the recent races. Raikkonen was close to the top of the times for most of the weekend on a track where he scored his first and so far only pole position last season. The Finn was especially strong in qualifying, where he completed his flying lap right on the limit to put on his best performance of the year.

5. Jenson Button
First Qualifying: 1:28.816; Second Qualifying: 1:29.245

For the first time this season, Button was clearly outperformed by his teammate Sato, who emerged as the strongest BAR driver at the Nurburgring. Button, like most drivers, had problems with the lack of grip from the start of Friday's practice, and he claimed his qualifying lap had been hindered by that. The Briton was expecting to fight for a place on the front row of the grid, so fifth place was a big disappointment for him.

6. Fernando Alonso
First Qualifying: 1:29.069; Second Qualifying: 1:29.313

With Trulli in stellar form, it is now Alonso who is being overshadowed at Renault after a period of getting most of the attention. The Spaniard was outqualified in his home race, then at Monaco - where Trulli got pole - and once more at the Nurburgring on Saturday. There was little Alonso could say. He was happy with his car's handling and put on a good, clean lap. Still, that kept him behind his Italian teammate.

7. Rubens Barrichello
First Qualifying: 1:29.014; Second Qualifying: 1:29.353

If Schumacher had one of the lighter cars in qualifying, Barrichello's case was just the opposite, as the Brazilian had opted for a two-stop strategy that saw him face his flying lap with one of the heaviest cars of the field. With that in mind, Barrichello's low placing was somewhat justified, even if he looked unable to match Schumacher's pace during the Grand Prix weekend.

8. Juan Pablo Montoya
First Qualifying: 1:29.092; Second Qualifying: 1:29.354

As the Colombian driver said himself after Friday's practice, he was never on the same wavelength as his car over the weekend. He complained the car was hard to set-up and unpredictable to drive, and Montoya did not help himself by spinning off the track in the final practice session, in which he failed to set a time. Qualifying was a reflection on his pace, as he finished over a second off pole position.

9. Ralf Schumacher
First Qualifying: 1:28.665; Second Qualifying: 1:29.459

Like Montoya, Ralf complained about the lack of development of the FW26. Also like the Colombian, the German pilot struggled to drive the BMW-powered car on the track where he had scored victory last season. Ralf had a more promising start of the weekend than his teammate, setting some good times, but qualifying proved to be a problem for the German too. The younger Schumacher was not happy with the balance of his car and that reflected on his flying lap, which was not good enough to beat Montoya.

10. Olivier Panis
First Qualifying: 1:29.243; Second Qualifying: 1:29.697

Despite some set-up problems at the start of the weekend, Panis was pleased with the performance of his car for most of the weekend. The veteran Frenchman managed to show some strong pace with the Toyota, putting on another solid performance in qualifying. The team's problems with the tyres, however, would ensure another tough race for Panis.

11. Cristiano da Matta
First Qualifying: 1:29.272; Second Qualifying: 1:29.706

Da Matta had problems with his Toyota right from the start of the weekend. Although happy with the balance, the Brazilian claimed the TF104 was bumping much more than last year's car around the German circuit. Apart from that he was also worried about the high rate of degradation of his tyres, something which has hampered Toyota this season. Despite playing down his chances da Matta qualified solidly. In the end, however, he did not have the chance of showing what he was capable of in the race.

12. Christian Klien
First Qualifying: 1:30.933; Second Qualifying: 1:30.797

Klien continued in his line of work, staying ahead of the slower teams but still not quick enough to match the pace of teammate Webber. Apart from a spin that cost him over half of Friday's second free practice session, the Austrian had an event-less weekend. His flying lap was over half a second slower than his Australian teammate, but started the race ahead thanks to the penalty imposed to Webber.

13. Nick Heidfeld
First Qualifying: 1:32.216; Second Qualifying: 1:31.431

Jordan's somewhat improved pace at the Nurburgring saw Heidfeld being able to fight for better positions for most of the weekend. The reliable German driver, fresh from scoring his first points of the season at the Monaco Grand Prix, was again the strongest of the Jordan drivers, feeling happier with the handling of the Ford-powered EJ14. Heidfeld put on an very good flying lap that was rewarded with his best qualifying position of the season so far.

14. Mark Webber
First Qualifying: 1:30.579; Second Qualifying: 1:31.604

Following the Monaco debacle, Jaguar were aiming to regain their confidence with a strong weekend at the European Grand Prix. Webber, as usual, was the quickest of the Jaguar duo, outpacing Klien in all of the timed sessions. His qualifying effort, though, was hindered when he received a one-second penalty for ignoring yellow flags during Friday's practice. Even with the penalty the Australian finished less than four tenths off Klien's pace, and lost only two positions.

15. Giorgio Pantano
First Qualifying: 1:31.928; Second Qualifying: 1:31.979

Like Heidfeld, Pantano was closer to his rivals at the Nurburgring thanks to the progress made by his Jordan team. The Italian had a pretty much trouble-free weekend right from the start and was relatively close to the pace of his German teammate. In qualifying he should have finished closer to Heidfeld, but a mistake at the final chicane saw him losing some time.

16. Felipe Massa
First Qualifying: 1:31.879; Second Qualifying: 1:31.982

Sauber's weekend started off quite badly, with both Massa and Fisichella suffering mechanical problems, although in the Brazilian's case it did not mean a penalty as it was only a problem with the electrics of his car. Even so, Massa lost some valuable time and had to play catch-up on Saturday, the Sauber driver not feeling comfortable with the car until qualifying. Then, however, he made a mistake at turn seven and lost a few tenths that cost him a couple of positions.

17. Zsolt Baumgartner
First Qualifying: 1:33.061; Second Qualifying: 1:34.398

After struggling badly at the Monaco Grand Prix mostly due to the ill handling of his Minardi, Baumgartner looked better at the Nurburgring, a less demanding circuit. Also, Minardi introduced some new aerodynamic components that made the PS04B an easier to drive car. Although the Hungarian, like teammate Bruni, was forced to change his engine after Friday's practice, he escaped the final row of the grid by completing his flying lap and avoiding extra penalties.

18. David Coulthard
First Qualifying: 1:28.717; Second Qualifying: No Time

Although like teammate Raikkonen, Coulthard saw a big improvement in terms of pace at the Nurburgring, the Scot could not turn that into a good result as he was the victim of yet another of the countless engine failures McLaren have been suffering from this year. Coulthard had showed good form both in practice and in pre-qualifying, only for his car to stop seconds after crossing the finish line in the opening session. McLaren fitted his spare car's engine into his racing machine and Coulthard was set for another tough race.

19. Giancarlo Fisichella
First Qualifying: 1:29.327; Second Qualifying: No Time

Just two laps into the Grand Prix weekend, Fisichella knew his race was sentenced; the Italian's Petronas engine gave up just at the start of Friday's practice and his Sauber team were forced to replace it, hence incurring in a penalty. Fisichella said he felt comfortable with his car's handling in race trim but had no chance of showing his pace, as Sauber decided to save fuel and tyres and the Italian did not even jump onto the track to complete his flying lap.

20. Gianmaria Bruni
First Qualifying: 1:33.077; Second Qualifying: 1:34.022

At least during practice, the Italian and his team enjoyed a moment of relative competitiveness, fighting with the Jordans to escape the bottom spots of the timesheets. Qualifying, however, was a different story and the Minardi drivers were again out of their depth. Although that didn't make much of a difference, Bruni too had to change his engine after Friday's practice and faced qualifying knowing that he would be penalised. In the end that didn't matter because the Italian jumped the red light when leaving the pitlane to complete his flying lap and his time was deleted.

The Race

With the fast starting Sato and Trulli right behind him, Schumacher's main concern was to keep them behind arriving at the first corner, a task that did not look easy especially considering the Renault driver had gained positions at the start in almost all races thanks to the French squad's efficient starting system.

As predicted, Trulli made a good start, but so did Schumacher, who despite Trulli's pressure arrived at the first corner in the lead, with Sato regaining second place under braking, with Trulli in third and Raikkonen right behind in fourth.

Further back it was disaster for Williams as Montoya blocked his wheels to avoid hitting the back of Barrichello's Ferrari. The Colombian's car hit the right rear wheel of Ralf's car, which was sent into a spin right in front of Montoya, who was unable to avoid it. The accident ended Ralf's race, not before the German crashed into the Toyota of da Matta, who was also out of the Grand Prix at the first corner. Montoya, meanwhile had to pit to change his front wing, rejoining the race at the back of the field.

"When I made it to the first corner Rubens Barrichello, who was in front of me, braked quite early and both Ralf and I locked the tyres," was Montoya's take of the incident. "Then Ralf went for the outside and I stayed behind Rubens but when I was going around the corner Panis dived up the inside hitting my front tyre which threw me straight into Ralf."

Sato and Trulli, meanwhile, battled it out for second place on the first corners of the opening lap. At turn four, however, Sato ran wide and Trulli dived down the inside. The Japanese driver closed the door and their cars banged wheels, both running wide into the dirt while Raikkonen passed. In the confusion of the incident, Trulli engaged the pitlane speed limiter and dropped further down the order.

The incident benefitted Schumacher, who at the end of the first lap led the slower Raikkonen from Alonso, Sato, Barrichello, Button, Trulli and Panis. With Raikkonen slowing down his rivals and with Schumacher lapping nearly three seconds quicker than the Finn, the gap became huge within minutes: by lap five, the Ferrari driver was almost 12 seconds ahead of Raikkonen.

The McLaren driver was under pressure from Alonso, who led a group of cars which was following right behind, although the Spaniard could do nothing to pass and Schumacher continued to open the gap. Luckily for his rivals, the German was running with very little fuel and pitted on lap eight, when he was over 17 seconds ahead of Raikkonen. Schumacher returned to the race in sixth place, but would soon move up the order as the rest of his rivals pitted.

Raikkonen came into the pits on the following lap, only to retire with a broken engine as the familiar plumb of smoke erupted from the back of his McLaren, much to the dismay and frustration of the Finn. When those on three stops had completed their first pitstops, Barrichello, on a two-stopper, emerged in the lead, followed by Schumacher, Sato, Coulthard - also yet to pit - and Button. Alonso, meanwhile, had dropped behind Trulli after going wide on lap 14.

Barrichello made his first pitstop on lap 15, rejoining the race in third place behind Schumacher and Sato, the BAR driver some 15 seconds behind the World Champion. Sato's teammate Button, meanwhile, was stuck behind Coulthard, who like Klien, Webber and Fisichella - who completed the top eight - was still to make his first stop. Button finally passed Coulthard with a gutsy move around the outside of turn one on lap 19.

Sauber's Fisichella, charging back from the bottom of the field, was the last man to stop, on lap 24, dropping from fifth to eighth. The Italian would gain a position only minutes later, when the Mercedes engine of Coulthard's car also blew up to complete McLaren's nightmare weekend.

The second round of pitstops for those on a three-stop strategy didn't change the order much. Schumacher continued in the lead ahead of Barrichello, who was still to stop, with Sato in third followed by Button, Trulli and Alonso. Webber and Fisichella completed the top eight, while Montoya was out of the points in ninth after climbing back from the bottom.

Barrichello finally pitted for the second and final time on lap 38, when he was over 10 second behind Schumacher and some five ahead of Sato. The Brazilian driver returned to the race in third place right in front of Button, who was still to pit again.

With the order unchanged at the top, Schumacher pitted for the last time with 16 laps to go, the German suffering a scare when rejoining the track, as Webber was just arriving at the first corner. Their cars almost touched and Schumacher was visibly not thrilled. The World Champion was followed by Sato and Trulli, the Japanese driver rejoining the race right behind Barrichello, whose two-stop strategy seemed to work out nicely. The Ferrari driver, however, was clearly slower than Sato, who quickly caught the Brazilian.

On lap 46, Sato went for it all and, from very far back, he dived down the inside of Barrichello at the end of the straight. The Ferrari driver was turning for the corner when he saw the BAR in his mirrors and steered left to avoid him. That, however, did not work, and the cars touched, Barrichello losing a bargeboard and Sato his front wing.

"I am sorry to say it but I think it was a bit too amateur from Sato to do that because he wasn't in a position to actually try and overtake," said the Brazilian, to which the Japanese responded: "I had to laugh when I heard him say that. What he said was totally untrue. He never looked at the replay. I was totally in control."

Barrichello continued in the race, while Sato was forced to pit, dropping down to fifth. His race would last just seconds though, as his Honda engine would let go right at the start of the straight.

With the Ferraris in total control of the race, the final laps went by quietly, Schumacher cruising to an easy victory ahead of Barrichello, who secured the Italian squad's fourth one-two finish of the season on a day where Ferrari were mourning the death of Fiat's chairman Umberto Agnelli.

Button came home in third place for his fifth podium of the season, while the Renaults of Trulli and Alonso had to settle for fourth and fifth. Sixth place went to Fisichella, who had driven a superb race from the back of the field to finish ahead of Webber and Montoya, who was lucky to get a point after his troubled weekend.

The result, however, was little consolation for Williams, who left Germany 70 points behind Ferrari in the standings. For the BMW-powered team, and for most of Ferrari's rivals as well, it looked as if things could only get better.

Race Results

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine                Time        
 1.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  1h32.35.101
 2.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)  +    17.989
 3.  Button        BAR-Honda        (M)  +    22.533
 4.  Trulli        Renault          (M)  +    53.673
 5.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  +  1:00.987
 6.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)  +  1:13.448
 7.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  +  1:16.206
 8.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)  +     1 lap
 9.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)  +     1 lap
10.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)  +     1 lap
11.  Panis         Toyota           (M)  +     1 lap
12.  Klien         Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  +     1 lap
13.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)  +    2 laps
14.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)  +    3 laps
15.  Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)  +    3 laps

Fastest Lap: M.Schumacher, 1:29.468

Not Classified/Retirements:

Driver        Team                  On Lap
Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)    48
Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)    26
Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)    10
R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)    1
da Matta      Toyota           (M)    1


World Championship Standing, Round 7:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  M.Schumacher  60        1.  Ferrari          106
 2.  Barrichello   46        2.  Renault           61
 3.  Button        38        3.  BAR-Honda         46
 4.  Trulli        36        4.  Williams-BMW      36
 5.  Alonso        25        5.  Sauber-Petronas   10
 6.  Montoya       24        6.  McLaren-Mercedes   5
 7.  R.Schumacher  12        7.  Toyota             4
 8.  Sato           8        8.  Jaguar-Cosworth    3
 9.  Massa          5        9.  Jordan-Ford        2
10.  Fisichella     5       
11.  Coulthard      4       
12.  Webber         3       
13.  da Matta       3       
14.  Heidfeld       2       
15.  Raikkonen      1       
16.  Panis          1    

Fastest Race Laps

Pos  Driver        Team                  Lap  Time              
 1.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)   7   1:29.468
 2.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)  11   1:30.004 + 0.536
 3.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)  14   1:30.101 + 0.633
 4.  Button        BAR-Honda        (M)  13   1:30.457 + 0.989
 5.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  29   1:31.065 + 1.597
 6.  Trulli        Renault          (M)  30   1:31.131 + 1.663
 7.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)  23   1:31.413 + 1.945
 8.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)  43   1:31.424 + 1.956
 9.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)   2   1:31.670 + 2.202
10.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  37   1:31.893 + 2.425
11.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)  55   1:32.121 + 2.653
12.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  14   1:32.337 + 2.869
13.  Panis         Toyota           (M)  12   1:32.506 + 3.038
14.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)  37   1:32.729 + 3.261
15.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)  27   1:32.772 + 3.304
16.  Klien         Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  14   1:32.804 + 3.336
17.  Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)  46   1:34.666 + 5.198
18.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)   7   1:35.555 + 6.087

Pitstop Times

Pos  Driver        Team                  Time      Lap
 1.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)  13.885   48
 2.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)  22.866   12
 3.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  22.888   42
 4.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  22.962   30
 5.  Trulli        Renault          (M)  23.403   28
 6.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)  23.722   44
 7.  Trulli        Renault          (M)  23.935   44
 8.  Trulli        Renault          (M)  24.075    9
 9.  Panis         Toyota           (M)  24.082   23
10.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  24.216    9
11.  Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)  24.332   44
12.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)  24.338   25
13.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  24.342   10
14.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)  24.345   30
15.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)  24.500   22
16.  Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)  24.525   29
17.  Panis         Toyota           (M)  24.548   10
18.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)  24.575   26
19.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)  24.593   27
20.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)  24.664   14
21.  Panis         Toyota           (M)  24.818   42
22.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  24.870   28
23.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  24.890   20
24.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)  24.914   42
25.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  24.945   44
26.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)  24.946   12
27.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)  25.035   44
28.  Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)  25.078   14
29.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)  25.153   12
30.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  25.178    8
31.  Klien         Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  25.342   16
32.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)  25.463   41
33.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  25.771   18
34.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)  26.067   15
35.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)  26.318   18
36.  Klien         Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  26.506   36
37.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)  26.588   38
38.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  26.729   38
39.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)  26.826   40
40.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)  26.917   24
41.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)  27.798   47
42.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)  30.703    1
43.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)  30.972   46
44.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)  33.629   43

Note: BAR's Jenson Button had three pitstops, however his 
pitstop times were not included in the FIA's pitstops summary

The European Grand Prix, Lap by Lap

Lap 1: At the start Michael Schumacher gets away well and Jarno Trulli is with him, seemingly leaving Takuma Sato behind, but the Japanese driver makes a huge lunge under braking and emerges in second place. As the cars head down the hill Sato and Trulli kick up the dust and as a result Kimi Raikkonen, fourth at the first corner, finds himself in second place with Fernando Alonso and Sato chasing. At the first corner Juan Pablo Montoya locks up and moves to the left to avoid running into Rubens Barrichello. As a result he tips his Williams team-mate into a spin and the German loses his front wing. He slides off the track into the path of Cristiano da Matta's Toyota and the two cars make contact and both retire. At the end of the lap Montoya has to stop for repairs. This means that behind Sato is Barrichello with Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli; Olivier Panis, David Coulthard and Nick Heidfeld giving chase. At the back Felipe Massa is left on the grid and Mark Webber is very slow away. At the end of the lap Schumacher has a lead of 2.4secs but Raikkonen is under pressure from Alonso.

Lap 2: Schumacher increases his lead to 3.9secs while behind Raikkonen there is a train of cars.

Lap 3: Michael Schumacher is in the perfect position and increases his lead to 6.3secs as his rivals are frustrated behind Raikkonen. Towards the back of the field Massa passes Zsolt Baumgartner to move to 16th place.

Lap 5: Schumacher has continued to benefit from Raikkonen's lack of speed and his lead is up to 11.5secs. Down at the back Massa passes Gianmaria Bruni for 15th

Lap 7: The status quo remains with Schumacher pulling away to increase his lead to a massive 17secs. The order behind is unchanged.

Lap 8: Schumacher goes into the pits, indicating that he was running very light in qualifying. He rejoins in seventh place. Raikkonen leads with Alonso and the rest right behind him. At the back Montoya passes Baumgartner for 17th.

Lap 9: Raikkonen finally pits and Alonso takes the lead. Also pitting is Trulli, who has been stuck in the line behind Raikkonen.

Lap 10: Alonso stops and so Sato goes into the lead with Barrichello up to second and Button third. Further back Panis heads also for the pits. Raikkonen goes out with a blown engine. At the same time Coulthard runs over the chicane. At the back Montoya overtakes Bruni for 15th.

Lap 11: Sato stays in the lead with Barrichello chasing him but Michael Schumacher moves to third as Button pits. This puts Coulthard up to fourth with Christian Klien fifth and Button rejoining in sixth.

Lap 12: Sato goes into pit lane and so Barrichello leads from Schumacher. Sato rejoins the race third. In the midfield ninth-placed Giorgio Pantano stops and falls down the order to 15th and at the back the Minardis begin their stops.

Lap 13: Button passes Klien for fourth position.

Lap 14: Alonso makes a mistake and looses a lot of time. Nick Heidfeld, who has risen to seventh place stops and falls back down the order.

Lap 15: Barrichello finally stops and drops back to third place behind Schumacher and Sato. Coulthard is yet to stop and is holding up Button. Klien is still going in sixth with Webber behind him and they are being chased by Giancarlo Fisichella.

Lap 16: Klien pits and so Webber moves to sixth place.

Lap 18: Webber stops and further back in the field Massa also stops for the first time.

Lap 19: Button goes around the outside of Coulthard at the first corner to grab fourth place.

Lap 20: Coulthard finally pits and falls back into the midfield fight.

Lap 22: Montoya has worked his way up to 10th by staying out after his first lap stop. Behind him Heidfeld passes Klien for 11th.

Lap 23: Panis has his second pit stop and falls from eighth to 10th. When he rejoins he almost collides with Schumacher, the leader having to go very wide to avoid an impact.

Lap 24: Fisichella finally pits, indicating that he is on a two-stop strategy. He falls from fifth to eighth but comes out behind Coulthard.

Lap 25: The situation is unchanged at the front but Button comes into the pits for his second stop. He falls behind the two Renaults. Further back Pantano has his second stop and emerges 14th. Behind him Montoya passes Panis for 14th.

Lap 26: Sato stops for the second time and Barrichello moves back to second. Coulthard, who is running seventh goes out with a mechanical problem.

Lap 27: Montoya passes Massa for 11th position.

Lap 28: Schumacher and Trulli both pit. Michael is so far ahead now that he rejoins in the lead, still six seconds ahead of Barrichello. Trulli drops from fourth to sixth. Montoya continues his progress by passing Klien for 10th.

Lap 29: Massa overtakes Klien to move up to 11th place.

Lap 30: Alonso and Heidfeld head for the pits and so Button moves to fourth again. Alonso rejoins in sixth position while Heidfeld's stop has put him back from ninth to 12th.

Lap 36: The order at the front has not changed at all but two-stopper Klien now pits and drops from 12th to 14th.

Lap 38: Barrichello stops for the last time but he is behind Sato, although the Japanese driver will need to stop again. Rubens is being chased by Button. In the midfield Webber has his second stop but loses only one place to Montoya although the Williams will soon have to stop again. Lap 40: Michael Schumacher continues to control the race, 17 seconds ahead of Sato. The two men both have a stop to make. Barrichello has a full tank of fuel and is third but is able to hold off Button. Further back in fifth and sixth are the Renaults of Trulli and Alonso, both running on a three-stop strategy. Fisichella is on a two-stop strategy and is seventh. Montoya is in eighth but must stop again. Further back Massa (on a two-stop strategy) comes into pit lane and drops from 10th to 12th.

Lap 41: Montoya stops and falls behind Webber.

Lap 42: Alonso comes in for his last stop and falls behind Fisichella. Further back Panis stops for the third time and drops from 11th to 13th.

Lap 43: Pantano stops for the third time but speeds in pit lane and will later have to return to the pits for a drive-through penalty.

Lap 44: Schumacher, Sato, Trulli and Fisichella all stop. As Sato rejoins Barrichello passes him. As Michael comes out of the pits he nearly collides with Webber and has to go wide to avoid the Australian.

Lap 45: Button has his final pit stop and stays in fourth place.

Lap 46: Sato tries to pass Barrichello for second place at the first corner and the two cars collide. Sato loses part of his front wing and has to pit. The Japanese drops to fifth behind Trulli.

Lap 48: Sato goes out with an engine failure. The order is now set with Schumacher comfortably ahead of Barrichello. Button is third and closing but unlikely to catch Rubens. Trulli is fourth and Alonso fifth while Fisichella is sixth and under attack from Webber. A lap down Montoya is eighth while Massa and Heidfeld dispute ninth all the way to the finish.