Kubica dropped to 13th as his traction control fault worsened, and a train of cars that wanted to pass developed behind him. Kovalainen's performance was much better than at the previous round in Melbourne, and he attempted to pass Jarno Trulli for eighth. The top five again remained the same after the second round of stops. However, Hamilton's short first stop necessitated a relatively early second stop, allowing Räikkönen to reduce the gap and Alonso to extend his lead to 18 seconds. Nico Rosberg, running in sixth place after the stops, was forced to retire with hydraulic problems on lap 43. David Coulthard also retired after problems with his brake pedal, the same problem that he experienced in the Friday practice session.