From one classic track to another, the Formula 1 circus arrived at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix - the final European round of the season.
A circuit steeped in F1 history, it is a fan, driver and team favourite for obvious reasons. Not just for the Italian food but also for the stunning and unique characteristics of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
The fastest circuit on the calendar, cars can top 211mph on the main straight and average lap speeds of 159mph. Full throttle for 83% of the lap, it is a terrifyingly fast track thanks to the low downforce set-up brought to the Italian Grand Prix.
Set in the beautiful parkland of the Royal Villa of Monza, Formula 1 drivers swap the sweeping high-speed bends of Spa for the tight, twisty chicanes and medium-speed corners of a circuit that has been on the F1 calendar since the sports inception.
With Vettel starting to run away with the championship, the likes of Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton went into the weekend hoping to close the gap and hold on to their title chances.
Cars are put to the test around the circuit with engines being pushed to the limit, heavy braking zones and tricky corners that challenge drivers due to the lowest downforce configurations of the season.
Check out my Weekend Preview for all the information on the race and my Thursday Snap Shot to catch up on the goings-on from the circuit prior to the on-track action,
FP1
There were three driver changes for the first practice session of the Italian Grand Prix weekend, which took place in gorgeous sunshine. James Calado got his first FP1 session for Force India, replacing Adrian Sutil. Kovalainen and Gonzalez replaced van der Garde and Bianchi respectively.
It was a quiet start to the session as drivers emerged from the pit lane for their installation laps. Rodolfo Gonzalez was the first driver to get a lap on the board with a 1m34.918. He improved that time by four seconds on his next lap before Jenson Button displaced him at the top.
By the half-way point of the session, the majority of the drivers were out on track on their first runs of the weekend. Vettel topped the session at this point with a 1m25.914, just ahead of Raikkonen, Perez and Alonso.
By the sessions end it was Lewis Hamilton who set the pace with a 1m25.565, just 0.035 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso. Rosberg, Vettel and Raikkonen followed close behind with the top 10 being separated by just six tenths of a second. We saw plenty of lock-ups into the chicanes alongside a few off-track excursions, both Williams cars travelling through the gravel trap at the Ascari chicane.
FP1-only runners Calado, Kovalainen and Gonzalez finished in 17th, 21st and 22nd respectively with the former finishing four tenths down on Di Resta in his first F1 race weekend run.
FP2
It was a slightly livelier start to the second practice session with the Monza track bathed in sunshine once again. Sutil, van der Garde and Bianchi all debuted for their respective teams after running reserve drivers in first practice.
Max Chilton was the first driver to set a lap time, a 1m28.747, before Raikkonen and Vettel displaced the Brit. Meanwhile Webber's session was delayed by a KERS issue and meant he lost 15 minutes of running. Cars struggled in the early laps as they pushed hard, Vergne, Bianchi and Grosjean all having off-track excursions.
Kimi Raikkonen had a wild off-track moment at the exit of the Parabolica with 40 minutes of the session remaining. During the mid-point of the session, the majority of the field completed short qualifying runs on the medium compound rubber.
Vettel managed to retain the top spot by the chequered flag with a 1m24.453 on the medium compound Pirelli tyre. Webber was six tenths back in second with the Lotus duo of Raikkonen and Grosjean setting identical lap times - 1m25.116. Alonso rounded out the top five with Hamilton and Rosberg all within one second of Vettel.
Massa, Button and Perez completed the top 10 with Di Resta 11th and Gutierrez in 12th. It was a busy session for all with plenty of moments across the ample gravel traps and run-off areas, Alonso and Hamilton being notable drivers to make mistakes in the closing stages.
FP3
It was a busier start to the third and final practice session of the Italian Grand Prix weekend with Max Chilton being the first driver to emerge on track. His rivals filed out shortly after to complete their installation laps.
Charles Pic was the first driver to complete a lap time on a rather quiet track, a 1m31.737 to start his day. Perez moved to the front before Di Resta displaced him in the early stages. Raikkonen moved to the front early on before Vettel and Webber moved to the top with a Red Bull 1-2.
Rosberg suffered a blow after his car overheated, meaning mechanics needed to check the engine for damage. Di Resta's session was also cut short after he found the barrier at the Parabolica, reporting that "something broke" on the car.
By the sessions end it was Sebastian Vettel who finished at the top of the time sheets after all drivers made a late switch to the medium tyres for their final run. His best time of 1m24.360 was just two tenths faster than Fernando Alonso in second place with Webber, Hamilton and Perez rounding out the top five.
Ricciardo, Massa, Button, Maldonado and Raikkonen completed the top 10 with Grosjean down in 14th and Sutil in 16th. Impressively, the times were much closer in comparison to second practice with the top 14 being separated by just one second.
Qualifying
Q1
It was a quiet start to the first of three Italian Grand Prix qualifying sessions with the search for the six slowest cars kick starting.
Gutierrez was the first driver out on track with Rosberg also emerging early on after losing vital running in third practice. The former crossed the line to set the first time of the session, a 1m26.293. Vergne moved to the front shortly after before Ferrari's Fernando Alonso displaced him with a 1m24.938.
Red Bull were feeling confident, keeping Vettel in the garage for quite some time before he emerged to set the third fastest time with six minutes of the session remaining. He moved to the front with his second lap on the hard tyres, just as the bottom teams emerged on the medium compound.
Rosberg and the two Lotus drivers obviously felt under pressure, switching to the medium compound Pirelli's. The times were incredibly close with the top 16 separated by just one second.
By the chequered flag, Vettel maintained his spot at the top of the time sheets with Rosberg, Hamilton, Vergne and Perez rounding out the top five. Ricciardo, Alonso, Grosjean and Button followed with Hulkenberg completing the top 10. The two Force India's just scraped into the second session.
However Gutierrez and Bottas were the two mid-field runners who failed to make it through to Q2, a disappointing session for both drivers. Giedo van der Garde out-qualified his team-mate with Pic finishing just behind in 20th. The Marussia duo of Bianchi and Chilton propped up the results page.
Q2
The second session began in typically calm fashion with just a handful of drivers emerging to start their running early on.
Daniel Ricciardo was the first driver out on track and the first to set a lap time, a 1m24.746 on the medium compound tyres. Di Resta and Hulkenberg failed to better the Australian before Massa and Alonso moved to the front.
Lewis Hamilton had a scary high-speed off at the exit of the Parabolica, kicking up a large amount of dust as he bounced across the gravel trap and back on track. Team-mate Nico Rosberg split the Ferrari duo as the half-way mark of the session arrived.
Red Bull left it late, giving Webber and Vettel just a handful of laps to get through to Q2. However, it was predictably easy with Vettel moving to the top with a 1m23.977 and Webber slotting into third. Hamilton could only go 10th with Ricciardo moving up to fourth as the chequered flag came out.
It was a surprising end to the second session with two title contenders ending up in the drop zone. Lewis Hamilton fell to 12th place, one position behind Kimi Raikkonen, after being impeded by Adrian Sutil on his final run.
In fact, both Lotus cars were out with Grosjean joining Raikkonen in 13th. Sutil, Maldonado and Di Resta also dropped out but the former was given a three-place grid penalty for holding up Hamilton.
However it was Sebastian Vettel who topped the time sheets with Alonso, Webber, Ricciardo and Hulkenberg rounding out the top five. Rosberg, Massa and Button also made it through to Q2 with Vergne and Perez joining them.
Q3
The top 10 shoot-out commenced with just 10 minutes to decide who would line up on pole position.
Rosberg was the first driver to set a lap time with Webber going considerably faster with his first attempt, a 1m23.990. Alonso was four tenths slower on his first lap with Vettel taking provisional pole, a tenth faster than his team-mate.
Daniel Ricciardo went fourth fastest with a 1m24.538 on his first lap. The Toro Rosso driver had the track to himself before the rest of the top 10 emerged to challenge for pole.
Ferrari attempted the drafting technique once again but Alonso radioed to complain that his team-mate was too far away. Jean-Eric Vergne went very wide at the Parabolica to close his one and only lap of the session.
Vettel drove through the dust to better his time once again with a 1m23.755, clinching Red Bull Racing's 50th pole position. Webber qualified second to make it a Red Bull 1-2 with Hulkenberg taking a shock third on the grid.
Massa went fourth with his final effort with Alonso only managing fifth place on the grid. Rosberg and Ricciardo followed close behind with Perez, Button and Vergne rounding out the runners in Q3.
*Three place grid penalty for impeding Hamilton in Q2
The Race
A mixed-up qualifying session saw two title contenders qualify outside of the top 10, but it was the rain that looked to spice up the action.
Light showers began to fall just prior to the race start. That was the big question ahead of lights out as the excitement continued to build ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. However, all drivers went for slicks for the race start.
The sunshine of Friday and Saturday was replaced with uncharacteristic grey cloud but the grandstands were still packed out with enthusiastic fans, who were all looking forward to an exciting race.
Sebastian
Vettel had taken pole position on Saturday from Webber and Nico
Hulkenberg's Sauber. Could the latter maintain his position in the race?
Could Vettel take another dominant victory? Read on to find out.
The cars lined up on the grid, the revs rose and when the lights went out, we were racing at the classic Monza circuit. Off the line, Vettel had a strong start but Massa had a flyer to move up to second place. Webber had a good initial getaway but dropped back on the run to turn one.
As the cars braked for the first corner, there was between Perez and Raikkonen after the Finn ran into the back of him. The Mexican went straight on with several drivers - including Hamilton - using the ample run-off area.
Hulkenberg dropped to fifth place with Button also losing ground after a slow start. Paul Di Resta went off in the Force India after colliding with Romain Grosjean at the second chicane, retiring with considerable damage to his left-front corner. Kimi Raikkonen pitted at the end of the first lap to replace his damaged front wing.
Vettel had a good jump on Massa after the first lap as the mid-field runners battled closely, Maldonado making slight contact with Sutil. Alonso had a look on the inside of Mark Webber into the first corner at the start of lap three.
The Spaniard tucked into the Aussie's slipstream on the run through the Curva Grande and went for the outside line under braking for the second chicane. Alonso went around the outside at the first apex but had the inside line for the second part of the chicane, moving up and into third place.
Vettel started to eke out a sizable advantage over Massa with a three second lead by the end of lap six. By that time, Alonso had started to close in on his team-mate with a few close battles developing in the mid-field.
Alonso moved up to second place in rather easy fashion into turn one, displacing Massa for third. Hamilton dived past Vergne into the second chicane but lost out on the exit, the Frenchman moving to his inside to take the position back into the first Lesmos corner.
Hamilton, on the hard tyres, then lost out to Jenson Button in the DRS zone on the run to Ascari. Meanwhile Vettel was radioed by the team warning him to looking after his right front tyre after it was flat-spotted under braking for turn one on lap one.
Vettel held a five second advantage over Alonso - who matched the German's pace early on - by the 12 lap mark with Massa and Webber holding onto the two title challenger.
Lewis Hamilton's weekend went from bad to worse after he was told to "box this lap" with a slow puncture. The team were struggling with radio problems and the Brit failed to enter the pit lane for two circulations of the track. He pitted on lap 14 for a fresh set of rubber without losing too much time.
Jean-Eric Vergne became the second retirement from the Italian Grand Prix after pulling off on lap 16 on the short run to the Curva di Lesmos. Smoke poured from the right bank of his engine and Jenson Button narrowly avoided collecting him as the Frenchman slowed at the exit of the second chicane.
Kimi Raikkonen had made some consistent progress since his lap one pit stop, moving up to 15th place and crucially one place ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Romain Grosjean pitted for the first time on lap 20 but it was a delayed stop that dropped him to 16th place.
Drivers were told to push hard and get the last ounce of pace out of their tyres as the pit stop window for the one-stop strategies arrived. Button pitted on lap 21 for a set of hard tyres, slotting in between Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean. Ricciardo and Perez pitted on the following lap, the latter suffering a slow stop and losing a position to his team-mate.
With a nice and healthy gap created by the earlier stoppers, Red Bull brought their drivers in on lap 23 for a stacked stop. Massa and Hulkenberg stopped on the next lap with the former losing out to Webber in the pit-sequence. Hulkenberg also lost out to Kimi Raikkonen and emerged just ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Strangely, Ferrari didn't react to Vettel's pit stop and kept Alonso out on-track for the next six laps. The Spaniard eventually stopped on lap 27, emerging well behind Vettel but with fresher tyres. Lewis Hamilton moved ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg on lap 29 after a strong move around the outside at turn one.
Kimi Raikkonen entered the pit lane for his second and final stop of the race, moving on to the medium compound tyre for a sprint to the flag on the more favourable tyres. Meanwhile someone else who was on the medium compound was Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver put in a stunning lap time to close in on Nico Hulkenberg.
Hulkenberg out-braked himself into the first chicane, which gave Hamilton a good run on the Sauber driver through the Curva Grande, moving up to fifth place before they reached the Variante Della Roggia chicane.
Up front, Vettel's advantage was extended to 10.8 seconds with 20 laps to go. Romain Grosjean passed Sergio Perez, with a bit of help from DRS, into the first chicane as the two battled in a small train behind Daniel Ricciardo.
Mark Webber moved into the DRS zone of Fernando Alonso by lap 39 with Hamilton pitting on the same lap for a fresh set of tyres. The Brit emerged behind Kimi Raikkonen after the two traded fastest lap times on the previous few circuits.
Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton made it past Esteban Gutierrez on lap 41 and 42 respectively as both Webber and Vettel were told to short shift.
Hamilton closed in on Raikkonen as the Finn struggled with a KERS problem, having a look around the outside and turn one but getting crowded out by his rival. With four laps to go, the Brit had another go and made the move at the Curva Grande.
He was a man on the move, passing Sergio Perez into turn one and mirroring the move one lap later, this time on Jenson Button. Adrian Sutil retired from the race as Hamilton went straight on at the second chicane in a last-gasp attempt to pass Grosjean. However Vettel was unchallenged out front once again to take his second consecutive race victory.
Sebastian Vettel wins the 2013 Italian Grand Prix
He battled car problems, gearbox concerns and a flat-spotted front tyre but Sebastian Vettel still managed to take a controlling Italian Grand Prix victory. It was another dominant showing with the 26-year-old taking his 32nd career victory and third win on the classic Monza circuit.
He had a good start but a flat-spot at turn one caused concern alongside a gearbox issue, but he brought the car home for his second consecutive win. Fernando Alonso made progress to finish in second place, five seconds down on Vettel by the chequered flag. He made up a position on the first lap and drove well to move into the runner-up position.
That gave Ferrari a presence on the podium in front of the fanatical Tifosi. Webber took a popular podium finish with third place after falling behind Massa at the start and losing out to Alonso mid-race. It was a decent drive from the Aussie, who finished on the gearbox of his Ferrari rival.
Felipe Massa took a decent fourth place, his strongest race for a while, with Nico Hulkenberg doing a brilliant job to hold on to fifth place. It was a welcome result for Sauber with the Swiss squad scoring more points in the Italian Grand Prix than they had done all season long.
Nico Rosberg finished just behind Hulkenberg, the leading Mercedes driver after a difficult qualifying. He kept out of trouble in turn one but failed to make much progress during the race. Daniel Ricciardo crossed the line to take seventh place, equalling his best ever career result. It was a strong race for the Toro Rosso driver at the team's home race.
Romain Grosjean managed to hold off the challenges of Lewis Hamilton to score a handful of points. He was the sole Lotus car in the points and managed to emerge unscathed after being torpedoed by Di Resta on the first lap.
Lewis Hamilton had an exciting recovery drive after an early stop for a slow puncture. He made up positions in turn one but dropped back due to that unscheduled stop, however some stunning overtaking moves helped him claw back ground and move into the points.
Jenson Button just managed to cling on to the final points paying position at the chequered flag after a battle with Kimi Raikkonen. He dropped back on the first lap after a slow start but managed to move ahead of his team-mate in the pit stop sequence. It was a disappointing result overall though for McLaren with Perez coming home in 12th place.
Kimi Raikkonen separated the two McLaren's after a poor first corner, colliding with Perez and pitting on the first lap. He did well to recover to 11th place after dropping to last place but it was the second consecutive race outside of the points for the Finn.
Gutierrez had a good battle with Sutil before the Force India's late retirement to finish 13th, looking more competitive than usual. Maldonado and Bottas could only manage 14th and 15th by the chequered flag after another race to forget.
Sutil was classified in 16th with Pic finishing ahead of van der Garde in the inter-team battle at Caterham. Jules Bianchi finished ahead of team-mate Max Chilton but the Brit was definitely closer to his team-mate throughout the race.
Jean-Eric Vergne and Paul Di Resta were the only drivers not classified. The Toro Rosso driver suffered an engine failure with Di Resta crashing out on lap one.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
The fastest circuit on the calendar, cars can top 211mph on the main straight and average lap speeds of 159mph. Full throttle for 83% of the lap, it is a terrifyingly fast track thanks to the low downforce set-up brought to the Italian Grand Prix.
Set in the beautiful parkland of the Royal Villa of Monza, Formula 1 drivers swap the sweeping high-speed bends of Spa for the tight, twisty chicanes and medium-speed corners of a circuit that has been on the F1 calendar since the sports inception.
With Vettel starting to run away with the championship, the likes of Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton went into the weekend hoping to close the gap and hold on to their title chances.
Cars are put to the test around the circuit with engines being pushed to the limit, heavy braking zones and tricky corners that challenge drivers due to the lowest downforce configurations of the season.
Check out my Weekend Preview for all the information on the race and my Thursday Snap Shot to catch up on the goings-on from the circuit prior to the on-track action,
FP1
There were three driver changes for the first practice session of the Italian Grand Prix weekend, which took place in gorgeous sunshine. James Calado got his first FP1 session for Force India, replacing Adrian Sutil. Kovalainen and Gonzalez replaced van der Garde and Bianchi respectively.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
It was a quiet start to the session as drivers emerged from the pit lane for their installation laps. Rodolfo Gonzalez was the first driver to get a lap on the board with a 1m34.918. He improved that time by four seconds on his next lap before Jenson Button displaced him at the top.
By the half-way point of the session, the majority of the drivers were out on track on their first runs of the weekend. Vettel topped the session at this point with a 1m25.914, just ahead of Raikkonen, Perez and Alonso.
By the sessions end it was Lewis Hamilton who set the pace with a 1m25.565, just 0.035 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso. Rosberg, Vettel and Raikkonen followed close behind with the top 10 being separated by just six tenths of a second. We saw plenty of lock-ups into the chicanes alongside a few off-track excursions, both Williams cars travelling through the gravel trap at the Ascari chicane.
FP1-only runners Calado, Kovalainen and Gonzalez finished in 17th, 21st and 22nd respectively with the former finishing four tenths down on Di Resta in his first F1 race weekend run.
FP2
It was a slightly livelier start to the second practice session with the Monza track bathed in sunshine once again. Sutil, van der Garde and Bianchi all debuted for their respective teams after running reserve drivers in first practice.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Kimi Raikkonen had a wild off-track moment at the exit of the Parabolica with 40 minutes of the session remaining. During the mid-point of the session, the majority of the field completed short qualifying runs on the medium compound rubber.
Vettel managed to retain the top spot by the chequered flag with a 1m24.453 on the medium compound Pirelli tyre. Webber was six tenths back in second with the Lotus duo of Raikkonen and Grosjean setting identical lap times - 1m25.116. Alonso rounded out the top five with Hamilton and Rosberg all within one second of Vettel.
Massa, Button and Perez completed the top 10 with Di Resta 11th and Gutierrez in 12th. It was a busy session for all with plenty of moments across the ample gravel traps and run-off areas, Alonso and Hamilton being notable drivers to make mistakes in the closing stages.
FP3
It was a busier start to the third and final practice session of the Italian Grand Prix weekend with Max Chilton being the first driver to emerge on track. His rivals filed out shortly after to complete their installation laps.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Rosberg suffered a blow after his car overheated, meaning mechanics needed to check the engine for damage. Di Resta's session was also cut short after he found the barrier at the Parabolica, reporting that "something broke" on the car.
By the sessions end it was Sebastian Vettel who finished at the top of the time sheets after all drivers made a late switch to the medium tyres for their final run. His best time of 1m24.360 was just two tenths faster than Fernando Alonso in second place with Webber, Hamilton and Perez rounding out the top five.
Ricciardo, Massa, Button, Maldonado and Raikkonen completed the top 10 with Grosjean down in 14th and Sutil in 16th. Impressively, the times were much closer in comparison to second practice with the top 14 being separated by just one second.
Qualifying
Q1
It was a quiet start to the first of three Italian Grand Prix qualifying sessions with the search for the six slowest cars kick starting.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Red Bull were feeling confident, keeping Vettel in the garage for quite some time before he emerged to set the third fastest time with six minutes of the session remaining. He moved to the front with his second lap on the hard tyres, just as the bottom teams emerged on the medium compound.
Rosberg and the two Lotus drivers obviously felt under pressure, switching to the medium compound Pirelli's. The times were incredibly close with the top 16 separated by just one second.
By the chequered flag, Vettel maintained his spot at the top of the time sheets with Rosberg, Hamilton, Vergne and Perez rounding out the top five. Ricciardo, Alonso, Grosjean and Button followed with Hulkenberg completing the top 10. The two Force India's just scraped into the second session.
However Gutierrez and Bottas were the two mid-field runners who failed to make it through to Q2, a disappointing session for both drivers. Giedo van der Garde out-qualified his team-mate with Pic finishing just behind in 20th. The Marussia duo of Bianchi and Chilton propped up the results page.
Q2
The second session began in typically calm fashion with just a handful of drivers emerging to start their running early on.
Daniel Ricciardo was the first driver out on track and the first to set a lap time, a 1m24.746 on the medium compound tyres. Di Resta and Hulkenberg failed to better the Australian before Massa and Alonso moved to the front.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Lewis Hamilton had a scary high-speed off at the exit of the Parabolica, kicking up a large amount of dust as he bounced across the gravel trap and back on track. Team-mate Nico Rosberg split the Ferrari duo as the half-way mark of the session arrived.
Red Bull left it late, giving Webber and Vettel just a handful of laps to get through to Q2. However, it was predictably easy with Vettel moving to the top with a 1m23.977 and Webber slotting into third. Hamilton could only go 10th with Ricciardo moving up to fourth as the chequered flag came out.
It was a surprising end to the second session with two title contenders ending up in the drop zone. Lewis Hamilton fell to 12th place, one position behind Kimi Raikkonen, after being impeded by Adrian Sutil on his final run.
In fact, both Lotus cars were out with Grosjean joining Raikkonen in 13th. Sutil, Maldonado and Di Resta also dropped out but the former was given a three-place grid penalty for holding up Hamilton.
However it was Sebastian Vettel who topped the time sheets with Alonso, Webber, Ricciardo and Hulkenberg rounding out the top five. Rosberg, Massa and Button also made it through to Q2 with Vergne and Perez joining them.
Q3
The top 10 shoot-out commenced with just 10 minutes to decide who would line up on pole position.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Daniel Ricciardo went fourth fastest with a 1m24.538 on his first lap. The Toro Rosso driver had the track to himself before the rest of the top 10 emerged to challenge for pole.
Ferrari attempted the drafting technique once again but Alonso radioed to complain that his team-mate was too far away. Jean-Eric Vergne went very wide at the Parabolica to close his one and only lap of the session.
Vettel drove through the dust to better his time once again with a 1m23.755, clinching Red Bull Racing's 50th pole position. Webber qualified second to make it a Red Bull 1-2 with Hulkenberg taking a shock third on the grid.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Massa went fourth with his final effort with Alonso only managing fifth place on the grid. Rosberg and Ricciardo followed close behind with Perez, Button and Vergne rounding out the runners in Q3.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m23.755s
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m23.968s +0.213s
3. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.065s +0.310s
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m24.132s +0.377s
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m24.142s +0.387s
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m24.192s +0.437s
7. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.209s +0.454s
8. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.502s +0.747s
9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.515s +0.760s
10. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m28.050s +4.295s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m24.776s Gap **
11. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m24.610s +0.633s
12. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m24.803s +0.826s
13. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m24.848s +0.871s
14. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m24.932s +0.955s*
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m25.011s +1.034s
16. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m25.077s +1.100s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m25.030s Gap *
17. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.226s +0.907s
18. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m25.291s +0.972s
19. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m26.406s +2.087s
20. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m26.563s +2.244s
21. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m27.085s +2.766s
22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m27.480s +3.161s
107% time: 1m30.221s
*Three place grid penalty for impeding Hamilton in Q2
The Race
A mixed-up qualifying session saw two title contenders qualify outside of the top 10, but it was the rain that looked to spice up the action.
Light showers began to fall just prior to the race start. That was the big question ahead of lights out as the excitement continued to build ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. However, all drivers went for slicks for the race start.
The sunshine of Friday and Saturday was replaced with uncharacteristic grey cloud but the grandstands were still packed out with enthusiastic fans, who were all looking forward to an exciting race.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
The cars lined up on the grid, the revs rose and when the lights went out, we were racing at the classic Monza circuit. Off the line, Vettel had a strong start but Massa had a flyer to move up to second place. Webber had a good initial getaway but dropped back on the run to turn one.
As the cars braked for the first corner, there was between Perez and Raikkonen after the Finn ran into the back of him. The Mexican went straight on with several drivers - including Hamilton - using the ample run-off area.
Hulkenberg dropped to fifth place with Button also losing ground after a slow start. Paul Di Resta went off in the Force India after colliding with Romain Grosjean at the second chicane, retiring with considerable damage to his left-front corner. Kimi Raikkonen pitted at the end of the first lap to replace his damaged front wing.
Vettel had a good jump on Massa after the first lap as the mid-field runners battled closely, Maldonado making slight contact with Sutil. Alonso had a look on the inside of Mark Webber into the first corner at the start of lap three.
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Vettel started to eke out a sizable advantage over Massa with a three second lead by the end of lap six. By that time, Alonso had started to close in on his team-mate with a few close battles developing in the mid-field.
Alonso moved up to second place in rather easy fashion into turn one, displacing Massa for third. Hamilton dived past Vergne into the second chicane but lost out on the exit, the Frenchman moving to his inside to take the position back into the first Lesmos corner.
Hamilton, on the hard tyres, then lost out to Jenson Button in the DRS zone on the run to Ascari. Meanwhile Vettel was radioed by the team warning him to looking after his right front tyre after it was flat-spotted under braking for turn one on lap one.
Vettel held a five second advantage over Alonso - who matched the German's pace early on - by the 12 lap mark with Massa and Webber holding onto the two title challenger.
Lewis Hamilton's weekend went from bad to worse after he was told to "box this lap" with a slow puncture. The team were struggling with radio problems and the Brit failed to enter the pit lane for two circulations of the track. He pitted on lap 14 for a fresh set of rubber without losing too much time.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Kimi Raikkonen had made some consistent progress since his lap one pit stop, moving up to 15th place and crucially one place ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Romain Grosjean pitted for the first time on lap 20 but it was a delayed stop that dropped him to 16th place.
Drivers were told to push hard and get the last ounce of pace out of their tyres as the pit stop window for the one-stop strategies arrived. Button pitted on lap 21 for a set of hard tyres, slotting in between Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean. Ricciardo and Perez pitted on the following lap, the latter suffering a slow stop and losing a position to his team-mate.
With a nice and healthy gap created by the earlier stoppers, Red Bull brought their drivers in on lap 23 for a stacked stop. Massa and Hulkenberg stopped on the next lap with the former losing out to Webber in the pit-sequence. Hulkenberg also lost out to Kimi Raikkonen and emerged just ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Strangely, Ferrari didn't react to Vettel's pit stop and kept Alonso out on-track for the next six laps. The Spaniard eventually stopped on lap 27, emerging well behind Vettel but with fresher tyres. Lewis Hamilton moved ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg on lap 29 after a strong move around the outside at turn one.
Kimi Raikkonen entered the pit lane for his second and final stop of the race, moving on to the medium compound tyre for a sprint to the flag on the more favourable tyres. Meanwhile someone else who was on the medium compound was Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver put in a stunning lap time to close in on Nico Hulkenberg.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Hulkenberg out-braked himself into the first chicane, which gave Hamilton a good run on the Sauber driver through the Curva Grande, moving up to fifth place before they reached the Variante Della Roggia chicane.
Up front, Vettel's advantage was extended to 10.8 seconds with 20 laps to go. Romain Grosjean passed Sergio Perez, with a bit of help from DRS, into the first chicane as the two battled in a small train behind Daniel Ricciardo.
Mark Webber moved into the DRS zone of Fernando Alonso by lap 39 with Hamilton pitting on the same lap for a fresh set of tyres. The Brit emerged behind Kimi Raikkonen after the two traded fastest lap times on the previous few circuits.
Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton made it past Esteban Gutierrez on lap 41 and 42 respectively as both Webber and Vettel were told to short shift.
Hamilton closed in on Raikkonen as the Finn struggled with a KERS problem, having a look around the outside and turn one but getting crowded out by his rival. With four laps to go, the Brit had another go and made the move at the Curva Grande.
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He was a man on the move, passing Sergio Perez into turn one and mirroring the move one lap later, this time on Jenson Button. Adrian Sutil retired from the race as Hamilton went straight on at the second chicane in a last-gasp attempt to pass Grosjean. However Vettel was unchallenged out front once again to take his second consecutive race victory.
Sebastian Vettel wins the 2013 Italian Grand Prix
He battled car problems, gearbox concerns and a flat-spotted front tyre but Sebastian Vettel still managed to take a controlling Italian Grand Prix victory. It was another dominant showing with the 26-year-old taking his 32nd career victory and third win on the classic Monza circuit.
He had a good start but a flat-spot at turn one caused concern alongside a gearbox issue, but he brought the car home for his second consecutive win. Fernando Alonso made progress to finish in second place, five seconds down on Vettel by the chequered flag. He made up a position on the first lap and drove well to move into the runner-up position.
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Felipe Massa took a decent fourth place, his strongest race for a while, with Nico Hulkenberg doing a brilliant job to hold on to fifth place. It was a welcome result for Sauber with the Swiss squad scoring more points in the Italian Grand Prix than they had done all season long.
Nico Rosberg finished just behind Hulkenberg, the leading Mercedes driver after a difficult qualifying. He kept out of trouble in turn one but failed to make much progress during the race. Daniel Ricciardo crossed the line to take seventh place, equalling his best ever career result. It was a strong race for the Toro Rosso driver at the team's home race.
Romain Grosjean managed to hold off the challenges of Lewis Hamilton to score a handful of points. He was the sole Lotus car in the points and managed to emerge unscathed after being torpedoed by Di Resta on the first lap.
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Jenson Button just managed to cling on to the final points paying position at the chequered flag after a battle with Kimi Raikkonen. He dropped back on the first lap after a slow start but managed to move ahead of his team-mate in the pit stop sequence. It was a disappointing result overall though for McLaren with Perez coming home in 12th place.
Kimi Raikkonen separated the two McLaren's after a poor first corner, colliding with Perez and pitting on the first lap. He did well to recover to 11th place after dropping to last place but it was the second consecutive race outside of the points for the Finn.
Gutierrez had a good battle with Sutil before the Force India's late retirement to finish 13th, looking more competitive than usual. Maldonado and Bottas could only manage 14th and 15th by the chequered flag after another race to forget.
Sutil was classified in 16th with Pic finishing ahead of van der Garde in the inter-team battle at Caterham. Jules Bianchi finished ahead of team-mate Max Chilton but the Brit was definitely closer to his team-mate throughout the race.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Jean-Eric Vergne and Paul Di Resta were the only drivers not classified. The Toro Rosso driver suffered an engine failure with Di Resta crashing out on lap one.
Results
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h18m33.352s
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +5.467s
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +6.350s
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari +9.361s
5. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari +10.355s
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes +10.999s
7. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari +32.329s
8. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault +33.130s
9. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +33.527s
10. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +38.327s
11. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault +38.695s
12. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes +39.765s
13. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari +40.880s
14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault +49.085s
15. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault +56.827s
16. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
17. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault +1 lap
18. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault +1 lap
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth +1 lap
20. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth +1 lap
Fastest lap: Hamilton, 1:25.849
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 35
Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1
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