As the two STRs and two BMWs disputed fifth to eighth places – with just over four seconds blanketing the evenly-matched quartet – Raikkonen was the first man to blink when the second round of pit-stops began at the end of lap 25, with Hamilton following the Finn into the pit-lane and gaining some time with a quicker stop as the harder tyres he favours were bolted onto his MP4-23.

With 19 laps remaining and rain predicted before the end of the grand prix, Hamilton began to whittle down the gap separating him from the long-time race leader, taking seven tenths away from Raikkonen in the middle sector of his 'out' lap alone. He then stole another eight tenths next time around, reducing the Finn's advantage to just 2.5 seconds with 15 laps left to run, with Massa – four seconds further in arrears but devastatingly quick through the first split – not to be counted out of the victory equation either.

A strong middle stint from Bourdais – pulling out some three seconds over the pursuing Kubica – allied to a slow second stop for the Pole enabled not only the record-breaking four-time Champ Car king to preserve his fifth place, but also let both Vettel and Heidfeld past into sixth and seventh positions respectively, dropping the second BMW to eighth, with Kovalainen just outside the points in ninth, 4.3 seconds in arrears.

With seven laps left to run and rain beginning to spit, Raikkonen led Hamilton by 1.6 seconds, with Massa a mere 3.2 seconds behind the Briton – and the tension increasingly mounting.

With five laps remaining until the chequered flag and the track becoming increasingly tricky, Hamilton had the hammer down and closed the deficit to less than nine tenths of a second as the Ferrari and McLaren started to run nose-to-tail, but once he got into the dirty air – and began to make mistakes – the gap opened up again, to two seconds as the leaders crossed the line for the 41st time.

With the rain now falling more heavily, however, Hamilton again seemed to have the greater confidence of the two men up front, as he closed down on his quarry once more, and going into the Bus-Stop chicane on lap 42 of 44 he closed inexorably in and tried to make his move around the outside.

Though that failed to succeed – the pair very nearly touching as Hamilton ran out of room and had to take to the grass and subsequently surrender the place again – the British star's advantage was such that he dived up the inside into La Source just a matter of moments later, as this time he made it stick, though Raikkonen continued to dart about in the McLaren's slipstream all the way up to Les Coombes.

Indeed, the scrap brought back memories of Michael Schumacher's inspired move on the Ferrari of Jean Alesi in similar circumstances in the dying stages of the 1995 European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, and there was further excitement when Hamilton came across Rosberg's wayward Williams into Fagnes, having to take avoiding action across the grass as Raikkonen got back past again – and immediately spun the lead back into the McLaren star's hands in the very next corner.

With Massa catching the pair of them and the race looking likely to go anyone's way, Alonso, Heidfeld and Glock all took a punt on pitting for intermediate tyres – a gamble that would pay off richly – with eight miles remaining and the track becoming increasingly treacherous.

Coming around to complete the penultimate tour, though, Hamilton twitched going through Pouhon and then Raikkonen lost control of his Ferrari heading towards Fagnes, catastrophically spinning into the wall and leaving the Finn to trudge disconsolately back to his pit garage and doubtless admit – in the immortal words of the late Enzo Ferrari – 'addio mondiale' (goodbye championship).