Finland's Kimi Raikkonen was declared the winner of an extraordinary Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at Sao Paulo yesterday which was stopped 18 laps early as Italy's Giancarlo Fisichella was denied his maiden win in Jordan's 200th race.
Fisichella was leading the race from Raikkonen's McLaren as the 71-lap race was halted after a horrific collision involving Jaguar's Mark Webber and Renault's Fernando Alonso.
But Raikkonen was given his second win in a row because he was leading the race when the classification was determined, despite having been overtaken just moments earlier by Fisichella.
Alonso was third but missed the podium ceremony after being taken to the medical centre while McLaren's David Coulthard was fourth. Raikkonen leads the championship by 12 points from Coulthard, while Ferrari's world champion Michael Schumacher crashed out.
The undulating Interlagos track had been drenched when a torrential downpour hit three hours before the race was due to get under way.
The race ended early for Jordan's rookie Ralph Firman when the right front wheel of his car suddenly flew off on the home straight, bounced off the front of the car and sent him helplessly skidding into the Toyota of Olivier Panis.
Webber sparked the dramatic end on lap 54 when he smashed into a wall. The front of the car was destroyed as he slid down the track before finally stopping by a barrier. The accident left debris strewn across the circuit and although Fisichella and Raikkonen picked their way through, Alonso rammed into a tyre and smacked into a barrier sending even more debris on to the track.
Officials immediately stopped the race, only to spark massive confusion over who won - a decision dependent on what lap the red flag was shown.
Fisichella, whose car caught fire in the pit lane, thought he had finally secured his first win at the 110th attempt and started celebrating. But minutes later the finishing order was changed giving Raikkonen the victory with Fisichella dropping to second.