The 2005 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 8 May, 2005, at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.
Kimi Räikkönen started on pole position ahead of Mark Webber, who set the fastest lap during the second qualifying session to claim the front row, leaving championship leader Fernando Alonso on the second row in third. Right from the start Räikkönen started pulling away at a blistering pace, setting the fastest lap thirteen times in only twenty four laps. Alonso suffered from some tyre wear and was forced to take care of the tyres and come home in second place, never taking the lead from Räikkönen.
Webber had a dismal start, losing second and then third to Alonso and Ralf Schumacher, respectively. After the first round of pitstops he lost three positions and had to battle his way back to finish in sixth. Alonso's teammate Giancarlo Fisichella moved around constantly in the field, but managed to end up in fifth from sixth on the grid.
Jarno Trulli had a good race, ending up on the podium in third ahead of his teammate Ralf Schumacher, who fell behind after the first round of pitstops. Meanwhile, Räikkönen's teammate Juan Pablo Montoya had an average race, moving around in the field but still only managing a seventh place. It was his return from a two-race absence to recover from a shoulder injury. David Coulthard claimed the final points-paying position in eighth after starting from ninth.
Some of the retirements included Michael Schumacher, who suffered from a tyre failure and had to retire on lap 47, his third retirement of the year. Jacques Villeneuve also had to retire on lap 52 after a water leak resulted in his engine overheating.
This was Räikkönen's first victory of 2005.
Read more about 2005 Spanish Grand Prix: Friday Drivers, Standings After The Race
Famous quotes containing the words spanish and/or grand:
“They are a curious mixture of Spanish tradition, American imitation, and insular limitation. This explains why they never catch on to themselves.”
—Helen Lawrenson (1904–1982)
“The allurement that women hold out to men is precisely the allurement that Cape Hatteras holds out to sailors: they are enormously dangerous and hence enormously fascinating. To the average man, doomed to some banal drudgery all his life long, they offer the only grand hazard that he ever encounters. Take them away, and his existence would be as flat and secure as that of a moo-cow.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)