Vettel takes commanding Monza win

Sebastian Vettel has won the Italian Grand Prix, dominating the race from the start and finishing well ahead of second placed Fernando Alonso.

With Vettel pulling quickly into the lead as the race began this afternoon in what has become routine for most Formula 1 races now, Alonso’s second placed finish was the best the team could hope for whilst competing against a Red Bull team who seem to now be uncatchable. Alonso’s second place finish came after a well fought race with Red Bull’s Mark Webber, who finished third on the podium.

In the closing stages of the race, both Red Bull drivers were ordered to short shift to protect what is thought to be potential gearbox problems. Whilst that problem stopped Webber from challenging for second place as the race headed towards to the end, Vettel had enough space in the lead to ease the car gently across the finish line.

Vettel was threatened for the lead momentarily at the start of the race by Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and teammate Mark Webber, but making it safely through the first corner, Vettel was left to pull off into the distance whilst those behind were left to battle over the remaining positions.

Alonso took P3 from Webber in a beautiful move around the Roggia chicane as the two went wheel to wheel on lap three. Ultimately the two would make only minor contact, leaving Alonso to chase down teammate Felipe Massa for P2. Massa soon made things very easy for Alonso, looking to have moved aside to let Alonso through as Ferrari attempt to keep the run for the 2013 World Championship with Vettel as close as possible.

Vettel’s lead increased to over 10 seconds when Ferrari opted to run a different strategy, which did not pay off, than Vettel who was ahead. Alonso was lucky to re-join from his stop just ahead of Webber, who had already passed Massa on track for P3.

Massa would eventually settle for a fourth place finish in Monza, whilst Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg finished fifth after living up to his qualifying performance.

Nico Rosberg finished in sixth after a quiet day racing for the Mercedes team; challenging mostly by the Lotus of Romain Grosjean and the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo, who will replace Mark Webber at Red Bull racing next season, finished seventh after successfully passing Grosjean.

Lewis Hamilton finished in ninth after struggling for pace and grip over the course of the entire race, whilst Jenson Button took the remaining point available for McLaren. Kimi Raikkonen, who was forced to pit early after running into the back of Sergio Perez on the first lap of the race, finished outside the points for the second race this season.

Sebastian Vettel now leads the Drivers’ Championship by a commanding 53 points over Alonso who sits in second place. Vettel’s lead in the race for the Championship was increased further as Raikkonen and Hamilton were left fighting over minor points at the back end of the top ten. Red Bull Racing lead the Constructors’ World Championship by 104 points ahead of Ferrari.

The Formula 1 calendar resumes two weeks from now on the weekend of September 20 – 22 for the 2013 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix.