Italian Grand Prix Race Report

Formula One fans across the world have only expected one outcome to many race weekends; a Sebastian Vettel lights to line win. Needless to say he didn’t fail to fulfill the expectation. Nobody looked remotely close to taking Vettel off the start grid, Webber gaining an uncharacteristically decent getaway with Vettel reciprocating. Nico Hulkenberg, who had qualified in third, was swamped off the line by the fast starting Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, which demoted him to fifth. Despite Webber’s decent start, Felipe Massa bravely positioned his Ferrari on the outside of the exiting F1 driver into the first chicane and managed to make the move stick, cementing his pass through Curve Grande. Alonso was not as explosive as his teammate for once and found himself stuck behind Webber as he undoubtedly peered into the distance at the typically charging Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel. Indeed, Vettel began to open a small gap over Massa, nothing particularly significant but enough to at least break the activation of the Drag Reduction System (DRS). Further down the pack, the first lap had been unbelievably eventuful. Kimi Raikkonen, one of the most experienced drivers on the grid managed to lock up into the first chicane and collect the rear end of Sergio Perez’s Mclaren in the process, causing Perez to take to the escape route and have to judge where to slot in into the pack. A subsequent front wing change was required for the Lotus, putting Kimi at the back of the pack. The drama continued into the second chicane as this time Paul Di Resta of Force India locked his front left and cannoned into the rear wing of Romain Grosjean. Such an early exit for Di Resta marked his second retirement in two races but impressively it was the first time in his F1 career he had retired on lap one; a true testament to the Scot’s driving ability.

Meanwhile, Alonso was closing on Webber’s gearbox, and grabbed a fantastic tow out of Curve Grande entering the second chicane. Webber was tough but fair, almost squeezing Alonso onto the grass. A pass for Alonso looked near impossible but he took the chicane on the outside and passed Webber on the exit in a majestic move. As he passed the Red Bull he clipped the front wing’s end plate causing Webber to lose a slight amount of downforce for the remainder of the race. Having passed his close friend, it was inevitable that team orders would come into effect and Felipe Massa promptly let his teammate through at the first chicane the very next lap. Despite Vettel’s lock up into the very first turn of the race and a possible flat spot on his front right tyre, he never looked uncomfortable. Alonso never looked like threatening the gap between the two, which was around six seconds once he had cleared Massa. The Championship rivals occupied the top spots in the race but where was fellow distant Championship contender Lewis Hamilton? Having qualified twelfth, he made his way up to tenth off the grid but was hampered by unfortunate struggles during the race. Hamilton’s team radio had seemingly broken as the team repeatedly told him to reset the device. However, it clearly didn’t work as Mercedes had to desperately hang out the pit board to inform Hamilton to pit. Despite this, he drove superbly and certainly banished any gremlins haunting him from qualifying. He claimed fastest lap of the race in his third stint on the option tyre and bar a slow puncture picked up on the first lap he certainly could have secured himself more points. His title bid however must surely be over this season as he trails Vettel by more than two race victories in the Championship.

With Hamilton out of the way, Alonso looked to close on Vettel as his nearest Championship rival. As Vettel pitted, Alonso stayed out and was asked by the team to start posting as many green sectors as possible. He promptly delivered, clearly desperate to close the gap between himself and the Red Bull whatever the cost. Felipe Massa pitted the lap before Alonso and even though the Ferrari pit crew turned him around in a solid 2.7 seconds he was powerless to prevent a pass from Mark Webber as he reached the exit of the pit lane, Webber gratefully grabbed third off the Brazilian. Alonso’s stop a lap later was also beautifully executed by the pit crew who improved to 2.6 seconds in their best attempt to help him close Vettel. Unfortunately, Vettel had passed the pit exit and reestablished a lead of around seven seconds, leaving Alonso perhaps scratching his head at what monumental effort it would take to close such a gap. Webber meanwhile, was gaining significantly on the Spaniard who remained much quicker in the middle sector than the Red Bull, perhaps allowing him to keep Webber at bay through the DRS zones.

Ultimately, Webber did not have the car beneath him to challenge Alonso. His race engineer repeatedly told him that he had to short shift from second into third in order to preserve a gearbox problem. His frustration was palpable as he came within a car’s length of Alonso down the straights but instantly lost out in the acceleration battle through the slower chicanes. Vettel was still sailing away up front with an advantage of eleven seconds giving him enough breathing space to preserve the car and bring it home for his sixth win of the season but also perhaps a special win for him, repeating the first race victory of his career. Alonso came home in a creditable second and Webber a battling third, his first and last podium in Italian and European Grand Prix racing. Fourth belonged to a much-improved Felipe Massa who needs good results if he is to regain his Ferrari seat next season. Fifth was Nico Hülkenberg for Sauber with an astonishing drive of poise and immeasurable talent. Such was the emphasis of Hülkenberg’s performance, that Vettel, upon seeing the race result whilst waiting to grace the podium somewhat gob smacked uttered ‘Hülkenberg?’ The young German deserves all the plaudits he receives. Interestingly, Vettel also noticed his future teammate, Daniel Ricciardo had achieved seventh, a result he also seemed to acknowledge.

Rosberg came in sixth bridging the gap between compatriot Hülkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo. Grosjean held on for eighth ahead of a charging and infuriated Lewis Hamilton who passed Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button and Sergio Perez to finish ninth whilst Button came tenth, subjecting his teammate to a non-points finish and Kimi Raikkonen to a second consecutive non-points finish. Lower down the grid, Charles Pic won the battle of the younger teams whilst Bottas and Maldonado were underwhelming once again. Jean-Eric Vergne retired from tenth to join Di Resta as the only other retirement of the race. Vettel’s continued dominance is certainly impressive but the question remains; how much is driver talent and how much is car performance? Nevertheless, having opened his Championship advantage over Fernando Alonso to an even greater extent, it seems as though no matter what the answer to the aforementioned question, Vettel will always have a place in the history of the sport, as the records tumble before his feet. If anybody is under any illusions whether Red Bull will be caught this season then a simple quote from Christian Horner will suffice to answer.

‘The one’s (tracks) we’re supposed to be weak at we keep winning’

Something tells me it’s the year of the bull.