* Pre-race: With the track still wet following morning showers, the field comes to the grid on intermediate tyres.

* Lap 1: On pole position for the sixth time this season – and the 15th in his Formula One career – Fernando Alonso makes a brisk start to lead team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella into Turn One. He pulls 2.6s clear by the end of the lap. Kimi Räikkönen works his way past Honda team-mates Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello to run third. Button lies fourth, having passed Barrichello at the start. Michael Schumacher settles into sixth ahead of Pedro de la Rosa, the fast-starting Scott Speed, Nick Heidfeld, Vitantonio Liuzzi, David Coulthard, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg, Jarno Trulli, Ralf Schumacher, Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica (who appears to run wide at Turn One), Sakon Yamamoto, Takuma Sato, Tiago Monteiro and Christijan Albers (who was sent to the back of the field for failing to respond to a mandatory pit lane weight check during qualifying). Robert Doornbos, who started alongside Kubica, pits to have some minor damage repaired.

* Lap 2: Alonso extends his lead to 3.9s. Kubica passes R Schumacher and Massa to move up to 15th.

* Lap 3: Alonso leads by 5.3s. Kubica passes Trulli for 14th.

* Lap 4: Alonso continues to pull away and is now 6.1s clear. Third-placed Räikkönen is 1.1s adrift of Fisichella. Kubica moves up to 13th, ahead of Rosberg.

* Lap 5: Alonso sets a new fastest lap: 1m44.747s.

* Lap 6: The gap between the Renaults has stabilised a little, at 6.8s.

* Lap 7: Not any more it hasn’t: Alonso is 7.8s clear. Webber passes Coulthard for 11th. Massa runs onto the grass at Turn 16.

* Lap 8: M Schumacher passes Barrichello for fifth, Heidfeld wrests eighth from Speed and Kubica dispenses with Coulthard. The Pole is now 12th.

* Lap 9: M Schumacher sets a personal best but is still 0.7s slower than Alonso, who leads Fisichella by more than 10s. Webber passes Liuzzi for 10th. Massa takes 16th from R Schumacher and Doornbos moves up to 21st, ahead of Albers.

* Lap 10: Massa and Doornbos gain more ground, passing Trulli and Monteiro respectively.

* Lap 11: Räikkönen is all over Fisichella. Massa passes Rosberg for 15th.

* Lap 12: Alonso laps in 1m44.658s. Kubica moves ahead of Liuzzi, Massa passes Coulthard. Doornbos passes Sato after the latter slithers over the grass at Turn Two.

* Lap 13: Fisichella loses second to Räikkönen, who is 16.4s adrift of the leader. M Schumacher passes Button for fourth. Webber wrests ninth from Speed. Doornbos is up to 18th, ahead of Yamamoto.

* Lap 14: Fastest lap to Räikkönen: 1m44.095s. Massa passes Rosberg.

* Lap 15: Button pits. Kubica passes Speed.

* Lap 16: Alonso runs wide and loses almost four seconds… but his closest adversary pits to refuel at the end of the lap. The Spaniard remains comfortably in front.

* Lap 17: Alonso leads Fisichella by 19.2s. Barrichello and de la Rosa pit. M Schumacher runs third ahead of Räikkönen, who is now almost 40s behind the leader.

* Lap 18: Yamamoto pits. Kubica passes Button. Massa moves ahead of Speed.

* Lap 19: Räikkönen slows up and pulls off to retire. M Schumacher is now just 0.6s behind Fisichella. Liuzzi spins at Turn 2 and loses several places.

* Lap 20: Kubica passes de la Rosa to take seventh. Massa is up to ninth at Button’s expense. Rosberg pits.

* Lap 21: M Schumacher and Webber pit.

* Lap 22: Alonso pits and takes on fresh front tyres.

* Lap 23: Fisichella pits: no fresh tyres for him. Alonso resumes the lead. Kubica laps in 1m42.072s: the best of the race so far.

* Lap 24: Alonso leads Fisichella by 10.6s. Kubica, Speed and R Schumacher all pit. Kubica opts for dry tyres.

* Lap 25: Kubica spins at Turn Eight – one of several adventures during the lap. Heidfeld pits. Kubica comes back in for wet rubber and struggles to stop in his pit. Leader Alonso is lapping several seconds more slowly than Fisichella or M Schumacher.

* Lap 27: Alonso continues to struggle. Fisichella is only 3.0s adrift… and M Schumacher is closing fast.

* Lap 28: The top three are as one… despite M Schumacher losing time behind the lapped Trulli. Doornbos pits.

* Lap 29: Fisichella leads briefly… but Alonso repasses. Massa and Coulthard pit.

* Lap 30: Fisichella takes the lead.

* Lap 31: M Schumacher passes Alonso for second. Fisichella leads by 1.4s. Barrichello is fourth from Heidfeld, de la Rosa, Button, Webber, Massa and Liuzzi, who pits.

* Lap 32: Fisichella laps in 1m31.960s. M Schumacher and Alonso set personal bests. Rosberg pits for dry tyres.

* Lap 33: Fisichella laps in 1m41.742s and is getting away. De la Rosa goes faster still: 1m41.690s.

* Lap 34: Fisichella continues to accelerate: 1m41.322s. Webber spins at Turn Two and pits for dries. Button pits too. Ferrari brings Massa in for dries.

* Lap 35: M Schumacher laps in 1m40.997s. Alonso comes in for dry tyres… and is delayed by a jammed right rear.
 
* Lap 36: The top two are less than a second apart. De la Rosa pits. Alonso is down to sixth, almost a minute in arrears. R Schumacher sets the race’s fastest lap: 1m40.396s.

* Lap 37: De la Rosa spins. Barrichello and Doornbos pit.

* Lap 38: Monteiro, 18th, spins into retirement at Turn One.

* Lap 39: Coulthard pits.

* Lap 40: M Schumacher pits for dries – and almost loses control as he rejoins. Heidfeld comes in, too, as does Kubica.

* Lap 41: Fisichella pits for dries and rejoins with his lead intact… just, but M Schumacher slices straight by him at Turn One. Massa laps in 1m39.880s.

* Lap 42: M Schumacher leads Fisichella by 7.6s. Alonso, 22.9s adrift, laps in 1m 39.400s. Massa posts a 1m39.397s.

* Lap 43: Alonso posts a 1m39.160s, 1.3s quicker than the leader: he is 21.7s adrift with 13 laps to go.

* Lap 44: Alonso laps in 1m39.157s: another 1.7s gained.

* Lap 45: Alonso is down to 1m38.525s: he’s 0.7s quicker than the leader this time. Massa hits Coulthard and retires with suspension damage.

* Lap 46: M Schumacher laps in 1m42.071s, Alonso in 1m38.442s: the gap is 15.4s.

* Lap 47: Alonso laps in 1m38.412s: 14.1s to go, but he only has nine laps.

* Lap 48: Alonso passes Fisichella – and despite lapped traffic posts a 1m38.353s. The gap is 13.7s. Coulthard runs wide and loses eighth to Webber.

* Lap 49: Alonso laps in 1m37.586s: the gap is 12.6s. Chasing team-mate Barrichello for fifth, Button runs wide at Turn 10. He loses sixth to de la Rosa. R Schumacher pulls into his pit garage to retire.

* Lap 50: M Schumacher laps in 1m38.553s and stabilises his advantage.

* Lap 51: It begins to rain. Alonso takes another second out of the leader.

* Lap 52: Alonso closes to within 9.7s. Speed spins.

* Lap 53: The top two are now 8.8s apart.

* Lap 54: Two laps to go: 7.8s to make up. Heidfeld, fourth, runs wide while lapping Albers. Button takes sixth from de la Rosa.

* Lap 55: It’s raining quite heavily on some parts of the track. Alonso remains 6.6s adrift.

* Lap 56: M Schumacher wins by 3.1s to tie the championship on points. Fisichella takes third. Button passes Barrichello for fifth on the final lap… and then gets Heidfeld, too. Barrichello tries to pass Heidfeld as they get among lapped cars, but taps him into a spin. De la Rosa capitalises to take fifth, from Barrichello, Heidfeld, Webber, Coulthard and Liuzzi.