Kimi Räikkönen's suspension failure on the final lap handed Fernando Alonso a win, while Nick Heidfeld claimed the only pole position of his career.
Key Facts
- Race length
- 59 laps
- Championship round
- 7th round of 2005 season
- Race winner
- Fernando Alonso (Renault)
- Pole position
- Nick Heidfeld (Williams) — first and only career pole
- Running of European Grand Prix
- 49th
- Date
- 29 May 2005
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Going into the 2005 European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, Fernando Alonso led the drivers' championship for Renault. Kimi Räikkönen in the McLaren had built a race lead and was on course to challenge that advantage heading into the final lap.
The 59-lap race saw Räikkönen lead until the final lap, when a flat-spotted front tyre caused a suspension failure, ending his race. Alonso, who had started sixth, inherited the lead and crossed the line first, with Nick Heidfeld second and Rubens Barrichello third.
Alonso's victory extended his championship lead, while Räikkönen's mechanical retirement denied McLaren vital points. Heidfeld's second place and sole career pole position represented a career high for the Williams driver. The result was the second of six races held across an intense eight-week period.