Kovalainen's crash is replayed on the trackside jumbo screen: Finn was conscious but had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital. (LAT Photo) » More Photos

Following the pit shuffling the order still had Raikkonen and Massa on front, but Hamilton, Kubica and Heidfeld all got the jump on Alonso, who was then followed by Webber, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Williams’ Nico Rosberg. At the restart on lap 28 overtaking moves were again not possible, a difficulty existent since the Circuit de Catalunya’s debut on the F1 calendar.

Six laps later, the joy of the local fans went downhill for good when Alonso’s engine expired. Barrichello joined him on the retirement list two laps later, while on lap 41 it was Rosberg’s engine’s turn to give up.

"Massa stopped two laps after me, so it's not like he had a lot more fuel, so yesterday's qualifying was pretty realistic," said a conformed Alonso afterwards. "It's a shame to break down, but I'm left with a great feeling."

Massa kicked off the second round of stops on lap 46, with Raikkonen following him again one lap later. Then, on lap 53, Red Bull’s David Coulthard was once again victimized by another driver’s excessive aggression when Toyota’s Timo Glock ran into the back of the Scot’s car, damaging the Toyota’s front wing and cutting the Red Bull’s left-rear tire.

Thus, at the checkered flag Raikkonen led Massa by 3.2 seconds, with Hamilton just 0.9sec further back. Kubica was fourth after another strong race, with Webber posting a season-best result for Red Bull in fifth. Jenson Button grabbed Honda’s first 2008 points with a sixth place, ahead of Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Trulli in eighth.

"We didn't get the perfect start but it was good enough to stay in front," Raikkonen said at the post-race press conference. "For sure we could have run a bit faster but no point to push when you don't need to. It was closer than we expected. It was a good day and I am happy that Heikki seems to be okay after his accident so I cannot ask for anything more. The guys did a perfect work. In the second pitstop I had a bit of traffic and had to wait, but it was okay."

The results in Spain leave Raikkonen with a comfortable nine-point cushion over Hamilton in second (29-20), while behind the Brit things look very tight: Kubica is third with 19, one point ahead of Massa and three in front of Heidfeld. Kovalainen is sixth with 14.

The 2008 F1 season resumes in two weeks’ time with the Turkish GP on May 11.

SPANISH GRAND PRIX RESULTS