By the time Heidfeld pitted, he had nurtured a massive 26.3-second gap over Kubica, and his stop promoted Barrichello into the lead. Indeed, as the German rejoined he did so just ahead of Kubica, and scrabbling around for grip and struggling to get the power down, he only narrowly preserved the place. With Kubica now running behind his fuelled-to-the-end team-mate, and a particularly racy-looking Alonso behind the pair of them, the Pole knew he had to find a way past soon if he was to still stand a chance of winning this grand prix.
Clearly spurred on, Kubica dived up the inside of Heidfeld at the start of the following lap to steal the place, leaving his team-mate to deal with fending off the advances of Alonso and Kovalainen. Barrichello’s subsequent pit-stop elevated Coulthard into the race lead, ahead of Trulli, Glock and
Sebastian Vettel, who had begun the grand prix from the pit-lane.
Coulthard’s subsequent pit visit allowed the Toyotas to run one-two for the only the second time in the Japanese manufacturer’s seven-year
F1 participation – the first being when Cristiano da Matta and Olivier Panis had done so in the 2003 British Grand Prix – but with the flying Kubica right with the pair of them.
Trulli pitted for his sole stop with 32 laps remaining, promoting Glock into the lead at the same place where four years ago the young German – yet to score in 2008 prior to Canada – had made his F1 debut. The delayed Massa passed Nakajima all the way around the outside of turn one, whilst up front Kubica – tucked up behind the
Toyota still – had only succeeded in pulling ten seconds clear of Heidfeld, who he was in effect racing for victory.
The ever-ragged Alonso very nearly smashed into the back of Heidfeld into the hairpin as for the umpteenth time the Spaniard left his braking dangerously late, whilst further back the other
Renault of Piquet was being parked in the pit garage, his Renault’s sidepods covered in black brake dust giving away the story in a race famous for punishing the cars’ brakes.
