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Vettel victorious at Monza

Vettel victorious at Monza

Sebastian Vettel was not under any pressure at all as he romped home on Sunday to win the Italian Grand Prix. Even going into the first corner with Fernando Alonso just ahead and Lewis Hamilton barrelling down his left on the outside, the German’s performance was so strong you had to suspect he’d easily find his way back to the front. By OSIAME MOLEFE.

Vettel managed to hold on to second place, but had to wait to take the lead back from Alonso after the safety car was deployed to allow the marshals to clear the carnage caused by Antonio Liuizzi when he lost control of his HRT and went backward into the first corner. The accident took out Nico Rosberg and Vitaly Petrov and damaged others.

After the safety car ducked back into the puts, Vettel retook the lead from Alonso in the fifth lap without having to rely on the DRS, which was still deactivated. The top two were given temporary relief by a racy Michael Schumacher, who had made his way up to third place, and temporarily challenged for second after catching Lewis Hamilton napping at the restart.

Mark Webber, Vettel’s closest championship rival at the start of the race, had taken sixth from Jensen Button at the restart, but crashed into the back of Felipe Massa and spun off at the first corner in the next lap. The crash dislodged Webber’s front wing, which lodged itself under the car heading into the famous Curva Parabolica and sent him straight off.

Meanwhile, Schumacher’s Mercedes showed some prodigious straight-line speed to stave off numerous attacks by Hamilton. Schumacher was only let down by his rear tyres, which lost grip badly shortly before his first pit stop. By then, Button had squeaked past Hamilton and easily overtook Schumacher.

After the first round of pit stops, Hamilton found himself again behind Schumacher and unable to match his top speed, despite being faster everywhere else. As he battled for fourth, glimpses of the old Schumacher, the one who’d push the boundaries of what’s allowed, emerged. He put his car on every part of the track where Hamilton wanted to put his car and eventually seemed to let him pass after some stern coded warnings from team principal Ross Brawn.

Hamilton was surprisingly measured and perhaps too tame behind Schumacher. He’d earlier denied he’d temper his race aggression, but he clearly had and was racing more cautiously to ensure he’d actually finish.

Button, continuing his trend of poor qualifying, but strong race performance, caught up to and passed Alonso for second place after the second round of pit stops – and that is how they finished, with Hamilton in fourth, Schumacher in fifth and Massa, who’d recovered after the crash with Webber, rounding out the top six. None, though, was able to challenge Vettel who was coasting at the front and eased into his second and Red Bull’s first victory at Monza.

Webber admitted that everybody else is now racing for second place in the drivers’ championship. Sunday’s race result puts Alonso as best of the rest with Button and Webber joint third. The countdown is now on for the Singapore night race in two weeks’ time, where Vettel will pick up from where he left off this weekend. DM



Photo: REUTERS

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