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For the BMW WilliamsF1 team the Spanish Grand Prix again
was another race that got away from them. Starting from second on the grid the best that
Mark could manage was a disappointing sixth. Nick was down in tenth after suffering from
his ten place grid penalty. With the race been sixty-six laps the drivers would line up on
the grid. Mark would hope to make the most of his second place on the grid. With the race
been sixty six laps the drivers would line up on the grid.
The start would see both Albers and Friesacher stalled on the grid. Webber was passed by
Alonso and Ralf which would see him back to fourth position. Team-mate Nick Heidfeld was now
in twelfth. With the safety car out Kimi would restart the race. Montoya would take seventh
from Michael Schumacher.
Lap three and Kimi would set a fest lap, 1m:19.111. He would drop this to a 1m:17.651 the
following lap. Next lap it was down to 1m:17.377. Both Minardi's were able to join the race
after been restarted. Webber was now only 0.8 seconds behind Ralf fighting for third. Massa
and Coulthard were closing in on Michael. Raikkonen again set a fastest lap, 1m:17.253, on
lap six. Another fastest lap on seven a 1m:17.196.
Montoya would spin his McLaren but was able to keep going in seventh position. Team-mate
Raikkonen was fastest again on lap ten, a 1m:16.780, with Alonso in second, Ralf in third
and Mark in fourth. Liuzzi would spin off into the gravel at turn seven and was the first
retirement of the race. Another fastest lap from Kimi, a 1m:16.592, on lap eleven. The gap
back to Alonso was now out to 8.5 seconds. Kimi would continue to set fastest lap after lap.
He would pull out 1.2 seconds on Alonso on lap thirteen. Webber was struggling to
keep up
with Ralf and Alonso. Another fastest lap for Kimi on lap twenty. Mark would pit dropping
down to tenth place. At the front Kimi was now 21.8 seconds ahead of Alonso after twenty one
laps. Ralf was now right behind the Renault, 0.9 seconds. Ralf would pit from third
returning with no problems.
Kimi would pit from the lead, returning in the same place. Trulli would pit coming out n
front of Ralf. Alonso would also pit. Alonso comes out in fifth ahead of the two Toyotas.
Fisichella would pit from second place. Montoya was also in while Michael Schumacher was
now in second behind Kimi. On lap thirty it was now Michael's turn to set the fastest lap of
the race, a 1m:16.019. He would set another the following lap, a 1m:15.648. Montoya would
return to his pit after it looked like he did not get enough fuel.
Michael would pits on lap thirty three. Barrichello was the last driver to pit. At the front
Raikkonen was now 25 second ahead of Fisichella with another 3.1 seconds to Alonso. Michael
was 35.2 seconds behind Raikkonen and in fourth place. Trulli and Ralf were in fifth and
sixth. mark was in seventh while Nick was down in eleventh. Coulthard was in eighth. After
his extra stop Montoya was down in tenth.
Fisichella would pit early coming in for a new nose. Bodywork on his car was stuck
underneath. He would return in eleventh position losing a whole lap. Michael was now in
third and Alonso second. Coulthard was in seventh while Mark would pit returning in ninth.
Michael would also pit after a short second stint. He would come out just in from of Webber
in eighth. He would start to attack Montoya who was in seventh. But Michael's race would
turn bad when he would suffer a flat tyre. He would struggle to get back to his pit. He
would retire from the race on lap forty nine. Trulli and Ralf were in third and fourth.
At the front both Kimi and Alonso would pit, returning in first and second. Ralf would start
to attack his team-mate for third place. But Ralf would pit, joined by Coulthard. Trulli
would also come in. While this was happening Villeneuve would retire. Mark was now in
eighth, with Nick right behind him.
With fifty five laps run Kimi was looking comfortable at the front. Heidfeld would pit. With
ten laps of the race remaining the retirements were Villeneuve, Michael Schumacher, Albers,
Friesacher and Liuzzi. Montoya would pit, while Ralf would continue to close in on team-mate
Trulli. Mark was now in fifth with Fisichella behind him. Nick was now in tenth.
With two laps to go Raikkonen was 25.6 seconds ahead of Alonso. Fisichella would pass Webber
at the end of the straight and through the Elf chicane. Massa would retire two laps from the
end of the race with left suspension problems. Ralf was now just 0.3 seconds behind
Trulli.
So with the final lap of the race Raikkonen would lead Alonso over the finish line in a
dominate performance from the Finn and the McLaren team. Jarno Trulli was in third with Ralf
Schumacher finishes a very close fourth. Fisichella finished in fifth position after
suffering a front wing failure. Mark would finish in sixth while Montoya would come home in
seventh despite his fuel delivery failure. The final point was taken by David
Coulthard.
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