The dramatic turnaround not only left Raikkonen comfortably out front, but also promoted Alonso to second, the Spaniard having found a way past Massa with a cutback move at the hairpin on lap 26. The pair pitted simultaneously a lap after Hamilton's demise, both able to take the turn with their ailing rubber in better condition, and dropping only behind
Robert Kubica as a result.
The Pole's moment of glory out front may not have been expected to last long, but was cut short when his
BMW Sauber failed under him, allowing the remaining title contenders back into the top positions, with Kimi enjoying an eight-second advantage over his foe.
Although the drying conditions still contained the odd tricky area, as Raikkonen found on lap 39, the leading trio - with Massa in third - were seldom troubled, leaving the focus of attention to fall on the battle for the remaining points positions.
Poor tyre decisions had dropped
David Coulthard away from the fifth place he had held in the early stages, and, although Kubica and
Nick Heidfeld - amongst others -both moved up to be 'best of the rest', the closing stages saw the less likely pairing of
Jenson Button and Vettel scrapping over the position. The German found a way through with 16 laps remaining and pulled away from those around him, having been involved in a multi-car squabble with
STR team-mate Liuzzi, the two Renaults, Trulli and the two Williams-Toyotas in the early stages.
Liuzzi and Heidfeld engaged in the closest top eight scrap as they diced over sixth, while Coulthard reclaimed the final points position but remained under threat from
Heikki Kovalainen to the flag. The Finn's hopes of maintaining his coring run had been largely scuppered in the first part of the race, his
Renault suffering major understeer that dropped him down the order. Team-mate
Giancarlo Fisichella, after qualifying poorly, was moving in the opposite direction, flying in the latter stages, but unable to improve on eleventh after his second stop dropped him out of the points.
