Fisichella's comeback, meanwhile, had stalled with the Italian in twelfth, although he had shown that it was possible for
F1 cars to dice with, and pass, each other, and that the short chute between turns six and seven could be a legitimate passing opportunity if your car was positioned correctly. Twice the veteran managed to make up a place there, passing Wurz in a wheel-banging move on lap 24 and then Liuzzi, more easily, five tours later.
Liuzzi continued to be a stopper in the bottle for those behind him, and was no easier to pass when the leaders came upon his Toro Rosso on lap 38. Hamilton had already lost time lapping backmarkers, allowing Alonso to close in, but the Italian gave the world champion his best opportunity to make a move for the lead.
Although the Toro Rosso pulled off for its first scheduled stop as the leading pair homed in on it, Alonso had the better momentum, pulling up under Hamilton's wing before diving out to the left as he attempted to out-drag the rookie to the braking zone for turn one. Hamilton refused to be fazed, however, hanging in there with his more experienced team-mate as they came perilously close to touching wheels down the main straight. Both braked at roughly the same time but, with the advantage of the inside for turn one, Hamilton was able to hold the lead.
Alonso was clearly not happy, swerving towards the
McLaren pit-wall next time around. The consensus was that, having been fuelled for less time than his team-mate, perhaps he felt he had some divine right to be allowed through as the lighter car, but the
status quo remained and, as the next few laps ticked by, the gap re-established itself at around a second between the two silver machines.
With both drivers equally matched, the only remaining glimmer Alonso had - second stop mishaps aside - was the amount of brake dust emanating from Hamilton's front wheels, especially under retardation at the end of the main straight, but the Mclaren, like its young pilot, showed few signs of cracking under the strain.
