2013 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix – Monza

The drama and excitement had been building all weekend, but it was the Grand Prix on Sunday which delivered a fascinating race. The expectation was high and with rain showers threatening to disrupt, the tension was clear to see too. There was plenty of drama down at McLaren even before the pit lane opened as Jenson Button suffered a fuel problem. It looked like he would have to start the race from the pit lane but the mechanics worked frantically to fix it. Their hard work paid off and Button did take his spot on the grid. The attention soon turned to the race.

As the lights went out the Red Bull’s got away together, they were neck and neck, but the Ferrari’s had a tremendous start and challenged both Vettel and Webber. Vettel locked up into the first chicane causing a heavy vibration due to a flat-spotted tyre. Kimi Raikkonen had a major lockup and made contact with the McLaren of Sergio Perez. There was a lot of damage to the flying Finns front wing forcing him to pit on the first lap. Paul DiResta had barely got going before he locked up and smashed into the back of Romain Grosjean at the second chicane. The Frenchman was lucky to continue but the Scot had cost himself the race. To add insult to injury he received a reprimand from the stewards after the race. It was an action packed first lap with plenty going on.

Home favourites Ferrari were ganging up on the Red Bull’s, Alonso made an outstanding move into the second chicane on Mark Webber, it was a very feisty and bold move from the Spaniard to take second place as he began his hunt on Vettel. Felipe Massa wasn’t far behind, he was pressuring the Australian from behind. Massa is driving for his Ferrari career many believe and he was doing well so far in Italy. The same couldn’t be said for Lewis Hamilton, the Mercedes driver suffered radio problems. Things got worse a little later as he suffered a slow puncture, but he couldn’t hear his team calling him to come into the pits. They waved his pit board frantically trying to catch his attention informing him to make the pitstop. Eventually he got the message and made an early change for tyres but it had ruined his strategy. His race pace wasn’t impressive in the early stages of the race, perhaps a new set of tyres could help him.

Toro Rosso had a great weekend in Italy, but their fortunes changed when Jean-Eric Vergne suffered an engine problem on lap 16. The Frenchman lost power on the way into the second chicane and blue smoke was pouring from the back of the car, he quickly pulled off the circuit and out of the race. back towards the front Fernando Alonso was still pushing hard and holding onto Vettel although the gap wasn’t getting any smaller. Both Red Bull’s were running with gearbox issues and Ferrari were looking to pile on the pressure. Vettel made his pitstop early thanks to the earlier flat-spot on his front tyre. Ferrari didn’t react leaving Alonso out in the lead. It was a delight for the Italian Tifosi who always love seeing a scarlet red Ferrari leading any Grand Prix, let alone the Italian Grand Prix. Alonso made his stop a number of laps later and rejoined behind Sebastian Vettel. The young German was dominating again.

Lewis Hamilton may have been well away from the lead after his early stop, but being out of position he was having a great scrap with the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg. The two were scrapping and after a couple of laps Hamilton made a fantastic move on the German, who was having a rather impressive race himself. After Saturday’s outstanding qualifying performance, Nico was once again out to impress. Many people, myself included believe he is a real contender for a seat at Ferrari next season. The Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo confirmed they would make a decision on their 2014 driver lineup in the week following the Grand Prix, Nico Hulkenberg was doing a tremendous job of getting himself noticed.

In the closing stages of the race Red Bull began to suffer with their continuing gearbox problems. Both drivers were told to short shift to save the gearboxes. Ferrari began to really put the pressure on even further, could they push the charging bulls over the edge? Mark Webber had an additional problem as his front wing was badly damaged. He made slight contact earlier in the race but the damage was getting worse. The front wing end fence was completely missing. Their potential problems brought the race alive as the two Ferrari’s began to push, but it just wasn’t quite enough. Sebastian Vettel had dominated all weekend, the triple world champion was unbeatable and took victory in Monza at the Italian Grand Prix. The fans favourite Fernando Alonso came home in second with Mark Webber third in his last ever European Grand Prix.

It was a dominant and controlled victory from Sebastian Vettel with only that one error into the first corner. He really is beginning to look unbeatable in this seasons championship once again, Ferrari need to catch up and so too do Mercedes and Lotus.

It was a fascinating race in Monza, this is the official race classification.

1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing
2 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
3 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing
4 Felipe Massa Ferrari
5 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber
6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes
7 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso
8 Romain Grosjean Lotus
9 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
10 Jenson Button McLaren
11 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus
12 Sergio Perez McLaren
13 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber
14 Pastor Maldonado Williams
15 Valtteri Bottas Williams
16 Adrian Sutil Force India
17 Charles Pic Caterham
18 Giedo V.D.Garde Caterham
19 Jules Bianchi Marussia
20 Max Chilton Marussia
Ret Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso
Ret Paul di Resta Force India

Tom Wilkinson’s Sunday Roundup

It wasn’t a classic Italian Grand Prix in my opinion but I did enjoy it. The atmosphere is always special in Monza and the Italian fans are simply the best fans in the world. It was a good race from Ferrari in the end, they had a dismal qualifying session but I felt they redeemed themselves. Mercedes didn’t have good race pace, certainly not the pace I was expecting them to have. It was much cooler on race day so perhaps that contributed. It was a hugely disappointing day for Lotus as Raikkonen fell out of contention with that first lap incident, I was looking forward to seeing what he could have done. It’s the second race running he hasn’t scored any points, is he now out of the championship battle? Force India had an awful afternoon too with Di Resta crashing out and teammate Adrian Sutil retiring with brake problems. Daniel Ricciardo had a good race for Toro Rosso finishing 7th, the Australian will return here next year as teammate to Vettel.

Driver of the Day:

Nico Hulkenberg, what an outstanding drive. Starting 3rd finishing 5th is a fantastic achievement in a car which should not be mixing it with the likes of Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. He got the best out of the car, and a bucket load more too. I would not be surprised if in Singapore we hear he will be at Ferrari next season.

Final Word:

The final race in Europe is over for another season, in many ways it’s sad, but this was the last time F1 races around Monza with V8 engines. One wonders if the V6 turbo’s will provide the same thrill. From Monza, I hope you’ve enjoyed our full coverage of the Italian Grand Prix, join us in two weeks time for the Singapore Grand Prix, but for now it’s a very warm goodbye.

Driving For Pleasure is the place to be for Formula 1 coverage throughout the 2013 season. Follow us on Twitter TomWilkinsonF1 and Drivin4Pleasure for all the very latest news and Tom’s F1 reports. Photos are supplied as always by Kevin Bennett, follow him on Twitter also @Bennett_Kevin to see more of his great work.