Michael Schumacher won the race for Ferrari from pole position in dominant fashion,[a] with his teammate Rubens Barrichello finishing behind him in second.

[6] This race marked the first time since the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix that cars competed without using fully-automatic gearboxes and launch control,[7][8][9] which were both banned by the FIA after the 2003 season.

[14] At the start, Alonso was up and away and ahead of Button and looking for a way to deal with Montoya while Jarno Trulli went from ninth on the grid to be fifth out of the first corner.

Behind all this there were a few wheels off the grass as others sorted themselves out (notably both Saubers) while Takuma Sato bumped the rear end of Trulli's Renault, slightly (but significantly) damaging both cars.

The Ferraris were gone already and as the afternoon developed all that Fernando Alonso could do was to watch the rears of the two red cars as they disappeared from his view.

Heidfeld was involved in an incident in the pit lane where the mechanic Matt Deane and refueller Mick Gomme were hit by the car and suffered some bruising.

Fernando Alonso gave Renault a podium with third place, while Jenson Button got BAR off the mark with sixth.