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As coverage started for the Italian GP, rain was coming down slowly, and it looked to be gaining strength. Seeing that, I was immediately a little more excited; a wet race is always more exciting, especially when it was likely Vettel was going to streak away and notch another win on his post with little input from other drivers, even home-favourites Ferrari. In dry pace, which is had been all weekend, Red Bull have been miles ahead of the competition, so a little bit of rain added into the equation was a great prospect.
As the race start came around, the rain seemed to have disappeared, and it was back to normal. Vettel, Webber, Hulkenberg, Massa, Alonso and all the rest lined up on the grid and tried to get the best possible start down the long drag towards the first corner. All cars got away pretty well, with the exception of a few, notably Hulkenberg. He was immediately swamped by Massa and Alonso, who quickly caught up to the Red Bulls, and Massa managed to get past Webber. Most were weaving around leading into the first corner, and Perez out-braked himself, locked up, which caused Raikkonen to lock up himself, and he suffered front wing damage on the back of the McLaren.
Going into the second chicane, Di Resta locked up both fronts – much like Raikkonen did – and as a result couldn’t steer away from the car in front, and ended his race in the process. It was a sad, premature end to the race for Di Resta, who has strong roots in Italy and was hoping to make a good impression in front of the Ferrari faithful and the team itself, in the hope of a potential drive at some point in the Red car. As Raikkonen suffered damage, he pitted at the end of lap one for a new front wing, which resulted in him coming out in last place, with ground to make up.
In the opening laps, Vettel streaked away, as he usually does. He complained of a vibration coming from the front tyres, as he locked up into the first corner of the first lap, which caused him to pit earlier than he would have done in normal circumstances. On lap eight, an unquestionable team order allowed Alonso to get past his submissive team mate Massa into second place, allowing him to chase after race leader Vettel.
In the pit stop window, there were communication problems between Hamilton’s Mercedes and the team, and when he would have pitted, he didn’t realise and carried on. The team had to communication the ‘old-fashioned way’ via the pit-board. Eventually, Lewis got the message and came into the pits for a fresh set of mediums. On lap sixteen, Vergne was a victim of engine failure coming out of the second chicane, which brought to an end the fifth race so far this season for the Frenchman.
As the race progressed, Alonso was allowed, by Vettel, to close the gap. Hamilton, on a fresh set of tyres, was driving brilliantly towards the end, and he was overtaking everyone – left, right and centre. He dispatched a struggling Raikkonen, who was nursing a KERS issue and also a fuel irregularity. Kimi did well to keep a rampant Hamilton behind him for a couple of laps, but in the end, struggling was fruitless. Both Kimi and Lewis drove very well on recovery drives, and Hamilton managed to overtake himself into the points – Kimi was just outside.
In the end though, there was nobody else in contention for the win. Sebastian Vettel dominated the whole weekend, and managed the gap to Alonso very well throughout the race. He now has the same number of wins as Alonso, and is fast approaching a fourth title in succession. Can anyone stop Vettel from becoming the new Schumacher in terms of sheer dominance? Perhaps, but I think it will take a lot to stop him from winning the 2013 title. At this point last year, he won the next four races in a row, which will (unless my maths is worse than I imagined) make him the 2013 champion before the end of the season.
Alonso came home in second, which is a good result from fifth. Webber filled the last podium spot, which was nice to see in his last chance to get a podium in Europe in Formula 1. Massa also did well, and Hulkenberg did very well to finish fifth – only Red Bulls and Ferraris beat him.
The Italian Grand Prix finished the European season, and now F1 moves over to Asia again to round off the 2013 season. Next up is Singapore, a night, street race. When we get there, a result may have come up about who will be in the Ferrari team next season. Will Alonso stay? I think so. Who will partner him though? Raikkonen? Massa? Hulkenberg? Di Resta? I have no idea. The press are saying Kimi, but I will not jump to any conclusions until a confirmation has come through. Either way, if the grid want to stop Vettel from running away with a fourth title, the teams and drivers really need to get their acts together, and haul him back.
It wasn’t a classic, but it certainly wasn’t a bad race. Let’s hope that the last races in the season hold more excitement and, if possible, a little less predictability.
