On lap 17 Jacques Villeneuve's BAR came to a halt with a hydraulic failure before Michael Schumacher pitted, and was passed by Montoya while in the pits, who had been able to do a quicker lap while not being held up by Schumacher. On the following lap, David Coulthard, the last of the front-runners, who had been in front of both Schumacher and Montoya, pitted for a very long fuel stop, re-entering behind both. On lap 19, the Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello suffered a left rear suspension failure, sending him straight on at the first corner hairpin, into the wall. The race stewards decided against deploying the safety car, preserving Alonso's 24s lead over Räikkönen, who rejoined ahead of Webber and proceeded to pull away from the Australian.