This weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza saw a brilliant double for the McLaren team, where they had two wins inside a fortnight. This race, however, turned out very differently for the two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
Hamilton started from pole position and took an early lead. He may have slipped a little from first place at the pit stop, but he pretty much controlled the race from the offset. The Brit then secured his first ever victory at the Italian Grand Prix. He is one of only two drivers to have won three races this season, the other being Alonso. Monza also marks the 20th Grand Prix race Hamilton has won in his entire career. It now raises him up to second place in the standings, behind Alonso.
Jenson Button, for a period of time, looked like he might be in line to take second place. He was, however, forced to retire from the race on the 33rd lap.
It was a free selection of tyres, and a change of tactics, which saw Sergio Perez eventually finishing second. This was despite having started from 12th position on the grid. The driver with Sauber overtook Fernando Alonso at Ascari on the 46th lap.
Alonso, who started from tenth place, fought an amazing battle to finish in third spot. He is still leading the field in the standings, 37 points in front of his nearest rival, Hamilton. The Spaniard criticised Sebastian Vettel, though, for reportedly forcing him on to the grass at the Curva Grande. The German received a drive-through penalty.
Alonso’s Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa finished the race in fourth place, while Kimi Raikkonen, with Lotus-Renault, was fifth. The Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher completed the meet in sixth place. This was one spot higher than the last race of the season, at the Belgian Grand Prix, in Spa a week ago.
Share this article
Leave a Reply