Behind them, Alonso and Raikkonen were inexorably moving through the field. They both executed a number of great overtaking manoeuvres. The upside of these was they were a delight to watch if you are a racing fan - the downside, if you are a tifoso, is that three of them were made on Schuey! Alonso's pass round the outside of 130R was breathtaking in its audacity, but if older fans search their memory they will recall that his second pass, and that made by Raikkonen on MS were plain text book stuff. Schuey's car was clearly slower in a straight line and he was driving cleanly but defensively, this compromised his exit from the corner and they were able to draft past on the next straight. Was the Ferrari carrying more wing? We've included a couple of pics to help you decide.

Other brilliant moves made by the young aces were Alonso on Webber, where he put two wheels on the grass at maximum speed on the straight to secure third and Raikkonen's pass of Fisichella to take the lead on the last-but-one lap. It was fascinating and exciting to watch the McLaren driver closing down the leading Renault. Fisi became more and more ragged, defending where it was unnecessary and was forced to yield. The Renault team defended the distraught driver, saying that his tyres were more used up than Raikkonen's or team-mate Alonso's (who was six-tenths of a second a lap quicker at the same stage of the race), but it just looked like no-one could have resisted Raikkonen on the top of his form in a superb car.

I can't really do justice to all the action and if you missed the race, I suggest you try to get hold of a video, and if you have one, to watch some of the moves over and over again. There has been some talk of this being the greatest race in living memory, but it does rather depend on the length of your memory; what is true is that it was a rare treat for fans starved of recent spectacle. For the record, Mark Webber was fourth in one of his best performances of the year. Jenson Button was fifth, complaining of handling problems, but after 99 GPs I find it hard to think of a performance which suggests he's on a par with Raikkonen and Alonso - let alone Schuey. Coulthud had another solid race for Dead Bull, coming home sixth, Schuey was seventh and his brother eighth in yet another race where Toyota promised but did not deliver.

The FIA have announced the latest regulations which don't seem to do much to address the issue of overtaking. Qualifying will again be a free-for-all with the slowest five cars eliminated after the first 15 minutes, then the next slowest five after the next 15 mins, with the remaining 20 on track for a final 20 minute session. Another twist is that minimum fuel can be used for the first two sessions, but those taking part in the final session must be fueled for the race, thus the teams will have to trade off running later, when almost invariably the track is better vs. the penalty of carrying more fuel. The format has undoubtedly been proposed to eliminate the phenomenon of a car-free track for much of the qualifying session, as used to happen before, which did not make good TV. The new format will challenge the TV companies as much as the teams, because even now many of them seem to miss the relevant action on-track. Just think what it will be like next year!

Bizarrely, the 'one set of tyres per weekend' rule is to be replaced with each driver getting seven sets, which he is free to use as he chooses. Just how this will help the FIA's avowed aim to reduce costs is not clear, especially when you consider the fortunes that will have been spent by the teams and the tyre companies this year. There are those who believe that this is a device to help Ferrari and Bridgestone regain competitiveness [and? - Ed.]; it must surely be a coincidence that Ferrari is the only big name to have signed up to the FIA's version of the future. It also seems that the manufacturers will have two more teams on their side with Honda announcing their support for a mystery 'B' team and rumours of a McLaren 'B' team to be fronted by Jean Alesi! Here, older tifosi go misty-eyed and the younger generation wonder why all the fuss about a Mercedes saloon car driver.

Finally, there doesn't seem to be any proposal to change aero regulations, which surely have the greatest impact on overtaking - perhaps it is better not to rush it.

So, on to China and back to a Tilkedrome after a run of proper circuits for the final GP of the season and the end of the V10 era. Here, the Constructors' title will be decided between McLaren and Renault - Ferrari's third place is secure. In the Driver's title, the first two places are decided, but Montoya can still nick Schuey's third place. China will also be Rubens last race as a Scuderia Ferrari pilota. Let's hope he has a better time than he did in Japan where he finished 12th after an opening-lap puncture.

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This week, Schuey promotes Ferrari's wonderful heritage

Keeping his eye on the oppostion, whilst Ross weighs things up

Brother Ralf took a 'PR pole' for Toyota

Rubens went off on lap 1 and got a puncture

Sato hit Trulli and was excluded

Schuey fought valiantly, but in vain with Alonso...

...and Raikkonen. More wing on the Fazza do you think?

Alonso zaps past Schuey for the second time

Webber had his best result for ages

Kimi monsters Fisi

Contrasting weekends...

...for the two McLaren drivers

pics by Ferrari Media, Schlegelmilch, XPB, LAT & Sutton