That tactic was taken out of Ross Brawn's hands on lap twelve, as Liuzzi spun his Toro Rosso and lost the engine. As the Italian stepped from his stranded machine, the stewards called for the safety car, throwing a curve ball at the strategists.
Ferrari promptly called both its drivers in, figuring that it could stack Schumacher behind Massa and still get the pair out ahead of Alonso when the Spaniard made his stop. Renault's Pat Symonds was wise to the move, however, and hailed the world champion at the same time. The move worked a treat too, as Alonso was able to power past Schumacher while the German was taking his fill, assuming second place, and simultaneously handing Massa the best chance of victory he is likely to get between now and Brazil in October.
Again the focus fell on fuel loads, this time with Alonso and Schumacher appearing to have taken on more than Massa in an attempt to close in on, and then pass, the Brazilian as they ran longer into the race. Schumacher, however, began dropping away from the rear wing of his main adversary, suggesting that he was fuelled even longer than the
Renault, but also conceding ground at a vital time.
With the top six runners all pitting under the safety car, the field again took on a shuffled appearance, with the front four all managing to rejoin at the head of the pack but those further back having been usurped by the non-stoppers. Button was now being chased by Rosberg, Klien, de la Rosa and Trulli, with Barrichello and Coulthard also taking advantage of Webber's decision to pit. The Australian still had Kubica for company, however, while
Ralf Schumacher and Fisichella took advantage of the controlled pace to begin their recovery drives from the back.
