With neither
Renault making it to the end of the race, it was left to
Red Bull Racing to take up the mantle of 'best of the rest', with
Mark Webber putting in another solid performance to take fifth place. The Australian took up his near-customary spot in the final phase of qualifying and made it count on Sunday, running a lonely race between the expected frontrunners and those battling for the minor points. Team-mate
David Coulthard also made the finish, but will hope for a less eventful outing in Turkey after again being assaulted by rivals in Barcelona. This time, Germany took its turn to gang up on the Scot, with both
Adrian Sutil and
Timo Glock hitting the RB4 on its way to twelfth spot.
Heidfeld, Kovalainen and Alonso missing out on points provided a rare opportunity for some unfamiliar faces to break into the top eight, although it still seems strange to think of
Jenson Button as a surprise scorer. However, given
Honda's recent woes, sixth place was a welcome improvement for the Briton, especially after again missing the cut for the final phase of qualifying. Astute tactics saw Button run long in the middle of the race, vaulting him up the order just as team-mate
Rubens Barrichello dropped out, the victim of a pit-lane collision with
Giancarlo Fisichella. The Brazilian will make history just by taking to the grid this weekend, as he finally overhauls Riccardo Patrese's long-standing starts record. Barrichello is rumoured to be running a special livery to mark his achievement.
Kazuki Nakajima also took advantage of the unusual absence of the some of the bigger names to return to the points in Spain, but there wasn't too much good news for
Williams team-mate
Nico Rosberg, who retired with a blown engine in the closing stages. The Grove team, after starting the year brightly, appears to be in danger of dropping to the tail of the midfield battle, and could face unfamiliar rivals if the likes of
Force India continue to move in the opposite direction.
