He moved back into championship contention, although he only caught leader Fernando Alonso by two points after the Renault driver came home in second today.

Alonso was roared on by a crowd of 115,000 and, even though he could not deliver the fourth consecutive victory they craved, he still extended is championship lead to 18 points.

Jarno Trulli scored his third podium of the season with third place today despite heavy pressure from Toyota team-mate Ralf Schumacher, who finished a close fourth.

Giancarlo Fisichella brought the other Renault home in fifth after a late move on Williams’ Mark Webber, who ended up sixth.

Juan Pablo Montoya marked his return from a two-race injury absence by taking seventh for McLaren as Red Bull’s David Coulthard claimed points for the fourth time in five races with eighth.

World champion Michael Schumacher drove another tactically superb race but he was hit by two punctures in quick succession and retired, dropping the Ferrari driver 34 points off Alonso’s championship pace.

At the start Raikkonen made a clean getaway to lead but the race was interrupted immediately though when neither Minardi got off the grid, forcing the safety car out.

Heidfeld and Rubens Barrichello were lucky to squeeze through a tiny gap between the stricken cars of Patrick Friesacher and Christijan Albers.

Alonso used the first lap to good effect though, blasting past Webber into second as the Williams driver dropped a further place when Ralf Schumacher sneaked past.

At the restart Montoya reclaimed seventh from Michael Schumacher after losing the position on lap one and the McLaren driver survived an eighth-lap spin to hang on to his place.

Raikkonen was easing clear at the front thanks to a succession of fastest laps but Vitantonio Liuzzi’s second grand prix ended swiftly when the Red Bull driver spun on lap 10 at turn seven.

Friesacher, who rejoined the race after being pushed back to the pits following his start-line trouble, spun out for good on lap 15 with team-mate Albers joining him on the sidelines soon after.

Raikkonen’s early-race pace was sufficient to allow him to pit for more fuel on lap 25 without losing his lead as further back the positions were swapping.

Trulli leapfrogged team-mate Ralf Schumacher in the pits while Michael Schumacher and Giancarlo Fisichella moved into podium contention.

Fisichella got past team-mate Alonso for second as Schumacher found himself not far behind in fourth. Fisichella’s second place did not last long however, with a handling problem forcing him to pit on lap 40 for a new front wing.

Michael Schumacher made an unexpected pit stop on lap 44 with a left rear puncture but his return did not last long when just two laps later his left front Bridgestone tyre also deflated. He pulled into the garage to retire.

That left Raikkonen and Alonso safe at the front and lifted Trulli up to third, where he stayed despite a late challenge from team-mate Ralf Schumacher.

Further back, Fisichella overtook Webber for fifth as Felipe Massa suffered a puncture on his Sauber.