Hamilton unluckiest man of the day?

During the second half of the race, there were times when Lewis Hamilton was the fastest man on the track. The McLaren driver was nibbling seconds off third-placed Fernando Alonso, when suddenly his third gear stopped working and he had to drop back to fifth behind team-mate Jenson Button.

"To be honest, I didn't think I would be able to finish the race," said Hamilton. "The gearbox was making loud noises. I kept my fingers crossed and tried to avoid changing gear too often." However, his lead over the two pursuing Mercedes was big enough for him to hold position and finish fifth, bagging a few vital championship points in the process.