Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel cruise to emphatic Monza victory

German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel moved even closer to his second consecutive world championship after scoring his eighth victory on the famous Monza circuit on the 11th of September 2011.

When the red lights went off, Sebastian Vettel had to play second fiddle initially to the rocket-starting Scuderia Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, who took-off from P4 to sandwich Vodafone McLaren Mercedes between him and the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel.

After that, the German Red Bull driver trailed the Scuderia Ferrari of Fernando Alonso obediently behind the safety car after an out-of-control Vitantonio Liuzzi spun down the grass on the inside going into Turn One and triggered a mass collision at the start which knocked-out his HRT, Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes and Vitaly Petrov’s Renault. The Williams of Rubens Barrichello, the Force India of Adrian Sutil and the HRT of rookie driver Daniel Ricciardo lost valuable ground in the chaos and.

After the race, Vitantonio Liuzzi was handed a five-place grid penalty for the next event in Singapore.

When the racing resumed on Lap Four after the safety car came in, it quickly became clear that the Ferrari was not going to be able to keep the spreading wings of the Red Bull behind him. It was only a matter of time, before the 2010 Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel calmly overtook Fernando Alonso round the outside in the Curva Grande on Lap Five, despite having two wheels in the dirt, and then simply sprinted to an easy triumph.

The Spanish Scuderia Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso was then momentarily reeled in by similarly fast-starting Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher, who was containing Lewis Hamilton, while his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team mate and 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button was sitting in ambush after initially dropping to seventh. As a matter of fact, Lewis Hamilton tried lap after lap to pass Schumacher, but was rebuffed, as the seven times Formula1 World Champion Michael Schumacher showed supreme racing skills, proving that it is only a matter of time before he scores his eighth Formula1 World Championship.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton made it briefly at Curva Grande on Lap 13, only to be repassed immediately thanks to the Mercedes’ greater straight-line speed. Then on Lap 16 as Schumacher closed the door in Curva Grande, Lewis Hamilton had to put his right-hand wheels on the grass. As Hamilton lost momentum, Button was able to drag past with his KERS and then immediately took advantage of his DRS to squeeze by Schumacher going into Ascari.

As Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Jenson Button settled into a chasing Fernando Alonso that would yield fruit on the 36th lap at Curva Grande, whereas his teammate Lewis Hamilton struggled in overtaking Michael Schumacher until he finally overtook him by going into Ascari on the 27th lap. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton even screamed over the radio about Michael Schumacher’s driving style, while the latter was informed by Ross Brawn, Mercedes GP team principal, to watch his driving style which exploited the whole width of the race track, without leaving space for his opponents.

Over the remaining laps, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Jenson Button stayed behind the leading Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, trading fastest laps with him, as the second Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton closed to within half a second of the Spanish Scuderia Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso on the final lap after claiming the fastest lap a lap earlier. However, a small under-steering mistake in Parabolica cost him his chance of invading the last spot on the podium, thus settling for fourth.

Undisputed race star Michael Schumacher and Mercedes GP driver faded to fifth, ahead of the ever-unlucky Felipe Massa. The Australian Red Bull driver Mark Webber lost his front wing in the first chicane against the car of the Brazilian Scuderia Ferrari driver, who was defending fifth place. The Ferrari spun, and Webber crashed at Parabolica later because his Red Bull had minimal frontal downforce as he headed to the pits, thus converting Mark Webber from a Formula 1 driver into a helpless passenger. Due to this involuntary delay, Felipe Massa trailed in 10.3s adrift of Michael Schumacher.

The final points went to Jaime Alguersuari who drove extremely well for Toro Rosso to seventh, while Bruno Senna failed by half a second to strip Paul di Resta from his eighth place as the Force India driver resisted his late charge. The Scot’s success moved the team ahead of Sauber, into sixth place in the constructors’ championship.

Jaime Alguersuari’s team mate Sebastien Buemi took the final point, ahead of the two Williamses of Pastor Maldonado and Rubens Barrichello, the two Lotuses of Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock’s Virgin and Daniel Ricciardo’s HRT which, like Jerome d’Ambrosio’s Virgin, had been left behind on the grid. The Belgian failed to finish, as did the Saubers of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez as they battled for midfield points, and Adrian Sutil’s Force India.

If things go his way, red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel could wrap up the title at the next round in Singapore. Currently he is 112 points clear with 284. Fernando Alonso moved to second place after the Monza Grand Prix with 172, with Jenson Button and Mark Webber third on 167 and Lewis Hamilton fifth with 158. Red Bull leads the constructors championship with 451 points to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ 325 and Scuderia Ferrari’s 254.

AE
11.09.2011