Italian Grand Prix - 10 Sep 2010 - 12 Sep 2010 |
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Italian GP: Lap by Lap Report
It's a beautiful, sunny day at Monza, Italy for round 14 of the 2010 F1 season. It's a lovely 25 degrees outside and the track temperature's 35 degrees. Monza is an important landmark on the F1 calendar. It's also Ferrari's home track and everyone on the grandstands have racing in their blood. Fernando Alonso couldn't have chosen a better venue to gift Ferrari their first pole position since Brazil 2008. Ferrari is a monster unleashed in its home as Alonso and Massa dominate all of the qualifying sessions. McLaren played spoilsport though with Button splitting the two Ferraris, finishing 2nd .
Grid
It's the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso on pole for the first time this season. Jenson Button's McLaren is alongside him. Felipe Massa in his Ferrari is on row 2 with Red Bull's Mark Webber. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are on row 3. The two Nicos, Rosberg and Hulkenberg are P7 and P8 respectively. Kubica and Barrichello complete the top ten on the grid. Force India's Adrian Sutil and seven time World Champion Michael Schumacher are on row 6. The two Toro Rossos are next on the grid. Pedro de la Rosa and Jarno Trulli are P15 and P16. Heikki Kovalainen and Vitantonio Liuzzi are on row 9. Vitaly Petrov following a five place penalty is in P19 alongside Lucas diGrassi. The two HRT drivers are on the penultimate row. Timo Glock is last on the grid following a five place penalty following a gearbox change. Kobayashi is starting from the pitlane.
Five lights illuminate...
It's a good start for Alonso and a better start for Button. The top three cars battle for position and Button gains race lead. The Ferraris are wheel to wheel as they come out of the first corner. It's every driver for himself. After a quick battle, Alonso gains position and Ferrari is happy the cars are damage-free. McLaren isn't as lucky with Hamilton making contact with Massa's Ferrari. The McLaren's front right suspension is broken and Lewis goes off-track in the next corner. With this one of the top two contenders for the championship is out of the race.
Vitantionio looks like Force India's only chance at a championship point as Sutil falls to the back of the pack after a pitstop.
Lap 4
Alonso sets the fastest lap 1:27.638.Ferrari's straight line speed is a clear advantage. Alonso has no trouble sticking to the back of the McLaren of Button, not letting any opportunity to overtake go to waste. But Button is smart. He's positioning his car perfectly, blocking every attempt. Looks like Jenson has a very busy afternoon in front of him!
Mark Webber's Red Bull may not be as good as Ferrari or McLaren but he sure knows he's faster than the Mercedes. One quick move and he easily steals 8th from Schumacher. Schumacher tries to take it back but fails miserably.
Button ahead of Alonso, Massa,Rosberg, Kubica, Hulkenberg, Vettel, Webber, Schumacher and Buemi are the top ten drivers.
Lap 14
Kobayashi and Senna are out of the race.
Ferrari's dominance over the race is becoming even more evident as Alonso sets yet another fastest lap - 1:26.421
Lap 19
Sutil is on an overtaking spree and is steadilty gaining position. He swiftly gets past Kovalainen and Glock and is now 17th.
Massa starts to struggle with braking.
Lap 21
Vettel radios the pit complaining of engine problems. Meanwhile, Webber gets ahead of Vettel. Vettel speeds up and regains his pace. Is this team orders coming into play?
Lap 24
Jenson Button encounters back markers. Blue flags are waved and they go off track to allow Button and Alonso to pass. This ruins Alonso's chance to get ahead of Button.
Lap 30
Sakon Yamamoto had hit a crew member during his pitstop and now the pits are closed temporarily. An ambulance is parked in the HRT pits.
Lap 37
Race leader Jenson Button dives into the pits but it's a lap too early! Alonso pits in the next lap and comes out ahead of Button. The race has turned in the favour of Ferrari. Ferrari's straight line speed means Button has to overtake Alonso soon or the race is out of his hands.
Ferrari's golden boy Fernando Alonso has the race lead. Button is close behind chasing him with Massa on his tail. Vettel who hasn't visited the pits yet is in 4th with Rosberg, Hulkenberg, Webber, Kubica, Schumacher and Petrov finishing the top ten.
Lap 45
Button cannot keep up with Alonso. He is falling back and the gap is now 3.7 seconds. If Massa pushes hard enough, we might just see a Ferrari 1-2.
Webber set the fastest lap 1:24.531
Lap 49
Jarno Trulli is out of the race with only a few laps to go. A blown gear box is to blame.
Hulkenberg's been on Webber's nerves all afternoon. From jumping chicanes to blocking every move of the faster Red Bull, the Williams been a menace to the Red Bull. But Webber finally overtakes him and an easy move too. A clear show of how much faster a Red Bull is compared to a Williams!
Final Lap
Vettel finally dives into the pits. His gamble pays off as he rejoins the race in 4th. It may not be a podium but it's still much needed points.
Alonso takes the chequered flag. Its delight for Ferrari on home ground!
Massa fails to push hard enough to overtake Button so has to be content with a third while button takes second. Vettel takes fourth, followed by Rosberg, Webber, Hulkenberg, Kubica, Michael Schumacher and Barrichello claims the final point scoring position.
It's been a great race here at Monza with Ferrari on top. Join us in two weeks for the only night race this season in Singapore.
Click here for the italian GP Race Results.
It's a beautiful, sunny day at Monza, Italy for round 14 of the 2010 F1 season. It's a lovely 25 degrees outside and the track temperature's 35 degrees. Monza is an important landmark on the F1 calendar. It's also Ferrari's home track and everyone on the grandstands have racing in their blood. Fernando Alonso couldn't have chosen a better venue to gift Ferrari their first pole position since Brazil 2008. Ferrari is a monster unleashed in its home as Alonso and Massa dominate all of the qualifying sessions. McLaren played spoilsport though with Button splitting the two Ferraris, finishing 2nd .
Grid
It's the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso on pole for the first time this season. Jenson Button's McLaren is alongside him. Felipe Massa in his Ferrari is on row 2 with Red Bull's Mark Webber. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are on row 3. The two Nicos, Rosberg and Hulkenberg are P7 and P8 respectively. Kubica and Barrichello complete the top ten on the grid. Force India's Adrian Sutil and seven time World Champion Michael Schumacher are on row 6. The two Toro Rossos are next on the grid. Pedro de la Rosa and Jarno Trulli are P15 and P16. Heikki Kovalainen and Vitantonio Liuzzi are on row 9. Vitaly Petrov following a five place penalty is in P19 alongside Lucas diGrassi. The two HRT drivers are on the penultimate row. Timo Glock is last on the grid following a five place penalty following a gearbox change. Kobayashi is starting from the pitlane.
Five lights illuminate...
It's a good start for Alonso and a better start for Button. The top three cars battle for position and Button gains race lead. The Ferraris are wheel to wheel as they come out of the first corner. It's every driver for himself. After a quick battle, Alonso gains position and Ferrari is happy the cars are damage-free. McLaren isn't as lucky with Hamilton making contact with Massa's Ferrari. The McLaren's front right suspension is broken and Lewis goes off-track in the next corner. With this one of the top two contenders for the championship is out of the race.
Vitantionio looks like Force India's only chance at a championship point as Sutil falls to the back of the pack after a pitstop.
Lap 4
Alonso sets the fastest lap 1:27.638.Ferrari's straight line speed is a clear advantage. Alonso has no trouble sticking to the back of the McLaren of Button, not letting any opportunity to overtake go to waste. But Button is smart. He's positioning his car perfectly, blocking every attempt. Looks like Jenson has a very busy afternoon in front of him!
Mark Webber's Red Bull may not be as good as Ferrari or McLaren but he sure knows he's faster than the Mercedes. One quick move and he easily steals 8th from Schumacher. Schumacher tries to take it back but fails miserably.
Button ahead of Alonso, Massa,Rosberg, Kubica, Hulkenberg, Vettel, Webber, Schumacher and Buemi are the top ten drivers.
Lap 14
Kobayashi and Senna are out of the race.
Ferrari's dominance over the race is becoming even more evident as Alonso sets yet another fastest lap - 1:26.421
Lap 19
Sutil is on an overtaking spree and is steadilty gaining position. He swiftly gets past Kovalainen and Glock and is now 17th.
Massa starts to struggle with braking.
Lap 21
Vettel radios the pit complaining of engine problems. Meanwhile, Webber gets ahead of Vettel. Vettel speeds up and regains his pace. Is this team orders coming into play?
Lap 24
Jenson Button encounters back markers. Blue flags are waved and they go off track to allow Button and Alonso to pass. This ruins Alonso's chance to get ahead of Button.
Lap 30
Sakon Yamamoto had hit a crew member during his pitstop and now the pits are closed temporarily. An ambulance is parked in the HRT pits.
Lap 37
Race leader Jenson Button dives into the pits but it's a lap too early! Alonso pits in the next lap and comes out ahead of Button. The race has turned in the favour of Ferrari. Ferrari's straight line speed means Button has to overtake Alonso soon or the race is out of his hands.
Ferrari's golden boy Fernando Alonso has the race lead. Button is close behind chasing him with Massa on his tail. Vettel who hasn't visited the pits yet is in 4th with Rosberg, Hulkenberg, Webber, Kubica, Schumacher and Petrov finishing the top ten.
Lap 45
Button cannot keep up with Alonso. He is falling back and the gap is now 3.7 seconds. If Massa pushes hard enough, we might just see a Ferrari 1-2.
Webber set the fastest lap 1:24.531
Lap 49
Jarno Trulli is out of the race with only a few laps to go. A blown gear box is to blame.
Hulkenberg's been on Webber's nerves all afternoon. From jumping chicanes to blocking every move of the faster Red Bull, the Williams been a menace to the Red Bull. But Webber finally overtakes him and an easy move too. A clear show of how much faster a Red Bull is compared to a Williams!
Final Lap
Vettel finally dives into the pits. His gamble pays off as he rejoins the race in 4th. It may not be a podium but it's still much needed points.
Alonso takes the chequered flag. Its delight for Ferrari on home ground!
Massa fails to push hard enough to overtake Button so has to be content with a third while button takes second. Vettel takes fourth, followed by Rosberg, Webber, Hulkenberg, Kubica, Michael Schumacher and Barrichello claims the final point scoring position.
It's been a great race here at Monza with Ferrari on top. Join us in two weeks for the only night race this season in Singapore.
Click here for the italian GP Race Results.
