Italian GP – THE POINT
Vettel-Alonso-Webber. I like that podium so much because the three drivers who finished on that have the place where their career into F.1 started in common: Faenza. Alonso and Webber made their first steps into F.1 alongside the Minardi Team, while Vettel made his debut alongside Toro Rosso, sealing his first win in 2008 at Monza. It is clear that in Faenza the atmosphere you can breathe, brings not only the history linked to the world of pottery and its famous museum with itself, but also the technology and good fortune linked to the world of Motorsport.
We saw a very performing Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel is more and more determined to become the World Champion, even if Alonso demonstrated to be the best driver once again. Singapore is the crucial point for Ferrari’s final part to the season to be decided. Seven events are yet to be run and many points are still up for grabs and we know how easy it is to make mistakes or have a moment of weakness. It won’t be easy for the Maranello team to challenge Red Bull, considering that the Austrian team usually makes consistent upgrades, but the men “in red” will have to stay focused and try to get the most of their potential, just as they did on Sunday. With regards to the strategy, Fernando’s race was flawless. Massa ran a great race but he didn’t manage to bother Webber after his pit stop. The Brazilian’s fourth place was not due to tyre change in my opinion, since the time gap between him and the Australian was only 4 tenths….In the last races Massa’s contribution to get the second place in the constructors’ championship to the detriment of Mercedes has been very important, however his engagement as a Ferrari’s driver is still a pending matter. I think this week will be the decisive one.
I would like to give credit to Toro Rosso, as its two cars qualified in the top 10 and to Ricciardo as he finished seventh (4 Ferrari engines in the top 10 is a very important result). I would give credit to Sauber and Hulkenberg, as well. The German driver drove a flawless race on Saturday afternoon and got an unexpected third place. On Sunday he finished fifth ahead of Mercedes, Lotus and McLaren, demonstrating his car is very competitive. I hope this result will help the team to overcome a difficult situation.
The challenge Raikkonen – Hamilton was very interesting. The Lotus’s Finn, after a collision on the first lap, ran several fast laps thanks to which he got the top positions before pitting. If he hadn’t pitted one more time, he could have bothered Hulkenberg. Lewis Hamilton showed what he’s made of by overtaking Kimi and Button in the last laps; he bothered Grosjean (he finished eighth).
In a couple of weeks the circus will fly to Singapore, which represents the last chance for rivals to challenge a very performing Vettel, who is supported by a team which doesn’t give anything to rivals.
