A lap-by-lap account of the drama at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on Sunday.
Rubens Barrichello has not got away on the formation lap. It looks as though he may struggle to start the race. It sounds as though the engine is running, but there is no drive. The car is pushed into the pit-lane.
Start: Everyone makes a decent start. Ralf Schumacher gets a bit of a tow, but not enough to have a go into turn.
Lap 1: Michael is already starting to build a lead at the end of lap 1 as the rest of the field gets away in pretty much grid order.
Lap 2: Barrichello looks as though he is completely out of the race. Order – Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button, David Coulthard, Jarno Trulli, Nick Heidfeld, Felipe Massa.
Lap 3: Schumacher has already stretched out a two-sec lead and has set a new fastest lap as well. De la Rosa has gone off and is stuck in the sand.
Lap 4: Raikkonen’s rear wing has fallen off and he has gone off half way round the lap. Strangely Raikkonen’s wing fell off on the main straight just like Mark Webber’s in the morning warm-up. Raikkonen brings the car in and it is put into the garage.
Lap 5: Button had a lucky escape as he swerved out of the way Raikkonen’s wing.
Lap 6: Fisichella is coming in for an early stop and it looks as though the Italian is out already. Michael is now 4s ahead of his brother. Coulthard is tucked up close behind Button’s Renault.
Lap 7: Schumacher has pulled out to five seconds ahead of Ralf. Michael looks dominant.
Lap 8: Michael is 6.6s ahead of Ralf. Montoya is a further 2.7s behind Ralf.
Lap 9: Coulthard and Button are still battling. The gap is only about a second.
Lap 10: Schuey has done a 1m22.3s which is a second faster than Ralf’s pace.
Lap 12: Takumo Sato is out of the race after spinning the Jordan off at turn 13. A hairy ride over the kerbs and into the gravel.
Lap 13: Michael is still setting fastest laps at the front of the field as Ralf and JPM hold station.
Lap 14: Ralf is now 12s behind Michael as the Ferrari man continues to stretch his lead.
Lap 15: Button is starting to pull out a bit of a lead over Coulthard.
Lap 16: Button, Couthard, Trulli, Heidfeld and Massa are all running pretty uniformly about 1.5s apart.
Lap 17: New fastest lap from Michael, as he puts in a 1m22.
Lap 19: Michael is already lapping traffic as he passes Mika Salo’s Toyota. However, Salo has made a pit-stop.
Lap 20: Montoya is making a bit of an inroad into Ralf’s lead. Montoya is now only 2.2s behind the German.
Lap 21: Panis is closing up on the arrows of Frentzen in the battle for ninth.
Lap 22: Michael is now 20 seconds ahead of Ralf. He’s pulling out at exactly a second a lap in the Ferrari.
Lap 23: The pit stops are expected to be starting any time soon as Michael gets down to a 1m21.6s. Trulli comes into the pits for his first stop. He makes it out in 8.4s as Villeneuve comes in as well.
Lap 24: Ralf Schumacher comes in for his stop. He gets out again in 8.2s as button comes in as well. 8s for the Brit.
Lap 25: Montoya pits for Williams. A poor stop for JPM as it takes 10.4s.
Lap 26: Michael comes in for his stop and he gets out again comfortably in the lead. Coulthard is staying out and is putting in fast laps in an effort to get himself ahead of the Renaults.
Lap 28: Coulthard is in for his pit stop. He makes the stop but he fails to leapfrog Button.
Lap 29: Montoya is only a second behind Ralf as the Williams battle. Montoya is past Ralf. And Ralf is in for a new front left tyre.
Lap 30: Coulthard is homing in Button.
Lap 32: Coulthard is now right up with the Renault. He is only as couple of tenths behind the Renault and may be close enough to have a go.
Lap 33: Order – Schumacher, Montoya, Button, Coulthard, Trulli, Heidfeld, Massa, Frentzen, Panis.
Lap 34: Trulli is catching the battle for third.
Lap 35: Coulthard slingshots past Button after getting a great exit out of the final corner. He gets down the inside into the first corner. Montoya is 23 seconds behind Schumacher, but he is being caught by Coulthard.
Lap 36: Jenson has lost a lot of pace, maybe his second set of tyres are not as good as the first.
Lap 38: Trulli has squeezed past Button for fourth.
Lap 40: Button is now falling back into the clutches of Nick Heidfeld as Bernoldi comes in for an unscheduled stop. The Brazilian spends 40 seconds in the pits.
Lap 41: The Williams team are in the pits and they have a new nose cone ready for Ralf who seems to be struggling.
Lap 42: Ralf stops for his new nose and he rejoins well down the field. Montoya now trails Schumacher by 37s. Panis has got ahead of Frentzen and the two drivers are fighting hard for eighth.
Lap 43: Heidfeld and Button come into the pits at the same time. They exit the pits pretty much side-by-side but the German grabs the place.
Lap 44: Panis pits but crawls to a halt on the exit as he retires with a lack of drive.
Lap 46: Montoya stops and it’s a complete disaster. Montoya goes early and runs over his lollipop man. It looks as though he gave the signal to quickly. The lollipop man is taken into the pits and he is being attended to by a doctor.
Lap 47: Coulthard and Schumacher pit and both drivers get out again without any problems.
Lap 48: Button is now coming under massive pressure from Massa. A great battle between the two young guns.
Lap 49: Button and Massa were side by side for about two corners but the Sauber’s front wing seems to be vibrating hugely. Maybe they have touched out on the track.
Lap 50: The battle for sixth is being caught by Frentzen as Button and Massa hold each other up.
Lap 53: Coulthard is now six seconds behind Montoya. The Scot was closing but not anymore.
Lap 54: Frentzen is now right with Massa and he’s putting the Brazilian under pressure. This is a great a battle for sixth.
Lap 55: Frentzen attacking Massa has given Jenson a tiny break. He has pulled out a very small gap.
Lap 56: This is a very entertaining scrap. But Button has run wide and let Massa and Frentzen through. The Brit is down to eighth.
Lap 58:Trulli has dropped off the pace and it sounds as though the Italian has a broken exhaust. It’s all gone wrong for Renault. Heidfled is now fourth as Massa and Frentzne continue their battle.
Lap 59: Schumacher is now 39s ahead of Montoya who is five seconds ahead of Coulthard.
Lap 60: Order – Schumacher, Montoya, Coulthard, Heidfeld, Trulli, Massa, Frentzen, Villeneuve, Button.
Lap 61: Button is continuing to drop back down the field. He is ten seconds off the pace and he is now crawling around the circuit at a walking pace.
Lap 62: Trulli has dropped back dwn the field and he too is out of the points.
Lap 63: Order Schumacher, Montoya, Coulthard, Heidfeld, Massa, Frentzen, Villeneuve, Trulli.
Lap 64: Both Renaults are now out after Trulli retires his car into the pits.
Finish: Michael Schumacher takes the flag to take a superb 57th Grand Prix. Second for Montoya ahead of Coulthard.
A good day for Sauber who grab fourth and fifth with Heidfeld and Massa. Great drive from Frentzen to grab sixth and Arrows first point of the year.