Already joining the massed ranks of spectators was
Mark Webber, his RB3 crying enough on lap nine with suspected hydraulic problems, and
Adrian Sutil, whose Spyker's
Ferrari engine gave up the ghost in dramatic style on the Hangar Straight. Schumacher's race also appeared to be run, the German pitting for the second time in quick succession, complaining of suspension problems.
With only a handful of drivers opting for a one-stop strategy, the order had largely shaken out by half-distance, with Alonso comfortably ahead of Raikkonen and Hamilton at a similar deficit to the Finn. Desperate to make up for his error, the Briton had locked his second set of tyres early in the stint, and failed to make any impression on those ahead of him. It later transpired that, having realised that its strategy was not going to have a impact,
McLaren opted to turn down the wick in Hamilton's car, preserving it for the Nurburgring in two weeks' time.
Scott Speed departed the fray on lap 30, the American coming together with Alex Wurz as the
Williams driver attempted an opportunistic move into Club, trying to capitalise on Speed being lapped by the leader. While the Austrian appeared to escape unscathed - indeed, he went on to set some of the race's fastest laps in the closing stages - Speed's left front corner was badly damaged, obliging the Toro Rosso driver to call it a day.
Alonso confirmed his short-fill strategy by making the his return trip to pit-lane on lap 37, one after
Giancarlo Fisichella, but well ahead of his rivals for victory. The Spaniard was put back on to the harder Bridgestones and sat for 8.2secs while Raikkonen moved back ahead. Hamilton was in on the next lap, completing a clean stop this time, as he took on the softer rubber and received a tweak of front wing as he again sought to cure the handling imbalance that had plagued him from the early stages.
