Further around lap one,
Scuderia Toro Rosso's Sébastien Bourdais became the race's first casualty as he flew off the road at turn six and beached his STR2B in the gravel trap, what the Frenchman phlegmatically rued ‘part of the learning process'. There was similar misery for
Toyota's
Timo Glock, whose baptism of fire continued apace as the
F1 returnee found himself harpooned into retirement by fellow former GP2 champion
Nico Rosberg in turn 14. The
Williams star pitted for a new nose, before rejoining right at the back of the field.
With the two Ferraris seamlessly pulling away out front – separated by a near-constant gap of around 1.6 seconds – it was fourth-placed
Mark Webber, who had made an excellent start in the Red Bull Racing from row three, who became the McLarens' principal spoiler. Further back Webber's team-mate
David Coulthard, Alonso and the recovering Heidfeld provided the race's principal early action as they squabbled over eighth place and the final points-scoring position.
With Coulthard suffering from understeer and Heidfeld feinting left and right, Alonso dived to the left of the RBR heading down the back straight, and in a flash the
BMW ace both saw and seized his chance, ducking into the Scot's slipstream before pulling alongside on the right as the cars ran three-abreast down towards turn 15.
It would prove to be a case of ‘he who dares wins', as Heidfeld kept the inside line for the corner and snatched two places in one go, with the combative Alonso and Coulthard – who will celebrate his 37th birthday this week – continuing to go at it hammer-and-tongs side-by-side along the start-finish straight and through turns one and two – almost touching wheels at one point – before the Spaniard finally made the move stick.
With the McLarens showing no real speed – Hamilton lapping a full two seconds slower than the pace-setting Ferraris – fans witnessed the unexpected sight of Trulli's Toyota piling the pressure on the Melbourne winner, though once the Briton had got into his groove he began to inch clear again and take a look at Webber's
Red Bull.
