Brits on Pole

Not much happened on track in Valencia, but Ferrari’s pitlane perils and Lewis Hamilton’s near-withdrawal on health grounds meant there was still plenty to talk about. As usual, we’ve compressed the performance of each driver and team down to just six words.

Overall race report

Much-hyped circuit serves up procession

Drivers

1. Felipe Massa

Drove skilfully, controlled race, regrettable incident

2. Lewis Hamilton

Not bad, given his Man Flu

3. Robert Kubica

Keeping the championship big-hitters honest

4. Heikki Kovalainen

Upped the ante after Hungary boost

5. Jarno Trulli

Yet another reliable points-paying performance

6. Sebastian Vettel

Deserved more points for superb weekend

7. Timo Glock

Great start, great strategy, points payoff

8. Nico Rosberg

Wasn’t pointless for once (boom boom!)

9. Nick Heidfeld

Continues to be embarrassed by Kubica

10. Sebastien Bourdais

Broken wing cost him better result

11. Nelson A Piquet

Struggled with damage and poor start

12. Mark Webber

Hoped in vain for safety car

13. Jenson Button

Flying start, made no progress thereafter

14. Giancarlo Fisichella

Happy with improvements to car’s competitiveness

15. Kazuki Nakajima

Currently, most unpopular man in Spain

16. Rubens Barrichello

Never managed to diagnose brakes issue

17. David Coulthard

No last hurrah here before retirement

DNF: Kimi Raikkonen

Can’t work miracles without an engine

DNF: Adrian Sutil

Might consider hiring a bodyguard soon

DNF: Fernando Alonso

Took disastrous race on the chin

Teams

1. Ferrari

Drivers have class – team lacks it

2. McLaren

Playing safe earns points without excitement

3. BMW Sauber

Their star is rising once again

4. Toyota

Gathering momentum in battle for fourth

5. Renault

Did nothing to advance cause today

6. Red Bull

Lacked speed, power – looked distinctly average

7. Williams

A mini-fightback, but still welcome

8. Honda

Nothing to write home about, again

9. Toro Rosso

A good weekend deserved greater reward

10. Force India

Continually improving, despite lack of results

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