KIMI Raikkonen cruised to victory in a Spanish Grand Prix that was marred by an horrendous accident involving Heikki Kovalainen.

The Finn miraculously suffered nothing more than concussion after ploughing into a tyre wall nose first at 140mph at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.

The McLaren driver was eventually airlifted to a nearby hospital with his neck in a brace to undergo a series of precautionary checks.

Raikkonen, meanwhile, led from pole to flag, the eighth successive occasion that has occurred at this track to strengthen his lead at the top of the drivers' standings. Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa and Britain's Lewis Hamilton taking second and third respectively.

The main concern, though, surrounded Kovalainen who was heading the race on lap 21, although he had yet to pit compared to the leading trio at that stage.

Suddenly, Kovalainen flew off the track at turn nine before burying the front half of his car in a tyre wall. On-board camera footage showed what appeared to be a part of the car breaking off, which instantly led to the front-left tyre deflating, and with Kovalainen unable to turn out of the smash.

The McLaren driver at least gave a thumbs-up sign as he was taken away on a stretcher to the track medical centre before being moved to hospital.

Either side of Kovalainen's accident, it was a race of attrition such was the casualty rate. The biggest disappointment for the majority of the 120,00 crowd was the sight of Fernando Alonso's Enstone-built Renault's engine blowing on lap 35.

Raikkonen now has a nine-point lead over Hamilton, with BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica a further point back in third after he came home fourth.

Red Bull's Mark Webber was fifth, with Jenson Button picking up Brackley-based Honda's first points of the season in sixth, while Kazuki Nakajima broke his duck for the Grove-based Williams team in finishing seventh, followed by the Toyota of Jarno Trulli.

5:05pm Sunday 27th April 2008

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