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Fisichella escapes in early crash


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Fisichella walked to safety after being pulled from the wreckage

MONACO -- Italian Giancarlo Fisichella escaped unhurt from a dramatic third lap collision in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Fisichella's Sauber was pitched upside down against the crash barriers at the exit to the Tabac corner after a blown engine on Takuma Sato's BAR left the cars behind racing blind into a thick cloud of smoke.

Fisichella hit the rear of Briton David Coulthard's McLaren in the mayhem with flag-waving marshals dodging the flying debris.

The Italian was helped out of the wreckage and walked to safety.

Coulthard was forced to retire and McLaren were left without a driver in the race when Finnish team mate Kimi Raikkonen also quit.

Raikkonen retired around the 30th of the race's 77 laps because of mecjanical problems which had been spotted by his team.

The safety car was immediately deployed after the early crash when the Renault of Italian Jarno Trulli led Spanish team mate Fernando Alonso.

Storming start

Sato had made a storming start before his engine went, accelerating past Ferrari's world champion Michael Schumacher to take fourth place from seventh on the grid.

The race had been initially delayed because of problems encountered by Frenchman Olivier Panis, who stalled and missed his grid slot after the formation lap.

Once started, pole sitter Jarno Trulli of Italy surged in his Renault to a quick lead just in front of Spanish team-mate Fernando Alonso, who moved quickly ahead of Jenson Button of BAR, who started in second place.

Michael Schumacher, who could see his five-race winning streak come to an end here, dropped to sixth after starting in fourth place on the grid.

By lap 10 Trulli was maintaining his lead ahead of Alonso, Button and Kimi Raikkonen, in a McLaren. Schumacher was sitting in fifth.


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