Further-down the order, predictably it was the
BMW Sauber duo of
Nick Heidfeld and
Robert Kubica who were ‘best of the rest'.
Kubica lost time in his first pit stop, but battled back passing
Nico Rosberg to secure fifth, and in the end he finished narrowly behind Heidfeld in the sister
F1.07.
Rosberg for his part had a good race
en-route to sixth in his
Williams after a fierce battle with
Jenson Button in the opening stages. Once he got in front though he pulled away from the Brit, finishing around 7 seconds in front.
Renault's
Heikki Kovalainen secured seventh place, with Jenson taking the final point in eighth for
Honda – only the second time this season the Englishman and the Brackley-based outfit has managed that feat.
Red Bull Racing's
Mark Webber was knocking on the door for points, but had to make do with ninth, while
Rubens Barrichello rounded out the top ten.
Of the rest,
Jarno Trulli came home eleventh in his
Toyota, after a bad start, followed by
Giancarlo Fisichella, Alex Wurz and
Anthony Davidson.
Ralf Schumacher completed the top 15, with
Takuma Sato next up for
Super Aguri and then the two Toro Rosso's and two Spykers, which brought up the rear.
The action now continues in less than a weeks' time with the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, the 14th and final European event of the season.
Before then though
McLaren will appear before the World Motor Sport Council again and how that will affect the championship is anyone's guess. If the ‘new evidence' is damning and the team are punished, they could face anything from a big fine to losing points or even exclusion from the sport.
The hearing takes place on Thursday.
Stay tuned to
Crash.net for all the latest news as and when it develops...
