With Hamilton pulling away at the front, the debate over relative fuel loads surfaced early, with the Mclaren driver expected to pit earlier than his rivals but carrying pace that contradicted exactly when he was expected. BY lap five, he was already 2.7secs up on Raikkonen and seven clear of his team-mate and, by lap ten, had increased those margins to 6.7 and 13.2secs respectively.
Rain came and went in the opening phase, possibly contributing to
Rubens Barrichello and
Anthony Davidson getting together on lap two. Both managed to rejoin from the run-off at turn one, but Davidson's
Super Aguri bore the wounds that would eventually lead to his demise ten laps later, Barrichello having pushed his rear bodywork over the brake ducts and leaving the Briton with reduced retardation. A pit-stop failed to cure the problem and Davidson posted the first retirement of the afternoon.
The Briton's demise preceded Hamilton's stop by three laps, by which the rain had stopped.
McLaren opted to leave the wearing inters on the points leader's car, a tactic replicated throughout the top four, sending him out with just a top-up of fuel. The stop dropped Hamilton to fourth, but he cycled back to the front as Massa, Alonso and Raikkonen pitted. The Finn had pressed on as soon as Hamilton had disappeared, and managed to close the gap between them by the time he rejoined from his own stop, although a brief moment on his out-lap cost the
Ferrari a couple of seconds in the chase.
As the conditions continued to dry, Alex Wurz took the gamble of fitting
Bridgestone's grooved slicks just three laps after Raikkonen had completed his stop. The Austrian, widely expected to announce his retirement from racing later today, was immediately lapping faster than anyone, prompting those following him into the pits to opt for a similar strategy. For four laps, the tactic appeared the right one, but the rain re-appeared briefly on lap 27, causing some to re-evaluate and return for inters.
