Hamilton regains momentum with determined run to victory at Monza, Rosberg 2nd after error; Massa 3rd, Bottas 4th for Williams to move team ahead of Ferrari

(Pictures via the excellent GrandPrix24-7.com)

After yet another stroke of misfortune for Mercedes’ driver Lewis Hamilton at the start of the Italian Grand Prix it would have been easy for the Englishman to play it conservative and cede victory to Nico Rosberg, his teammate and archrival for the Drivers’ Championship. But “conservative” has never been in Hamilton’s vocabulary. Facing an electronic problem to start the race at the spectacularly fast Monza circuit that pushed Hamilton from Pole to 4th in the space of an eye blink, the feisty former champion fought his way back to harass Rosberg until it was the German who blinked. Directly after both had stopped for their one and only tire change, Rosberg was still leading the race on lap 29 but locked up his tires for the second time while breaking for the first chicane. Rather than flat-spotting them he again took the slow runoff route and this time Hamilton was close enough to pounce and take command of the race. Hamilton never looked back and still had plenty of rubber and fuel at the end to hold off Rosberg by over 3 seconds. After his unforced error it would now seem to be Rosberg’s turn to have a moment of doubt as to whether he can hold on to his most cherished dream, to be crowned World Champion of F1. One thing is for certain: Hamilton will keep on coming to grab another Championship no matter what fate throws his way. He’s already had a season’s worth of bad luck with 6 rounds left to be run and he is still a mere 22 points behind Rosberg overall lead. The current points leader had better buckle up and toughen up if he wants to be crowned champion because Hamilton looks to have regained the upper hand in the mental war between the two contenders.

Felipe Massa came home a distant 3rd for Williams. The veteran Brazilian, who saw so much success and heartbreak when he was a driver for Ferrari, was warmly cheered by the fans after his strong if unspectacular drive for the last spot on the Podium. His young Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas had good run after a poor start from 3rd on the grid forced him to fight with several drivers, most notably McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen, to regain positions. Bottas was able to fight his way to 4th and in doing so lifted Williams, whose disastrous 2013 campaign seems like nothing but a bad dream now, over Ferrari for 3rd place in the Constructors’ Championship. Not at all coincidentally, it was announced that both drivers will be retained by Williams Martini racing for 2015, completing a very ecstatic weekend at Monza for the team.

At the other end of the spectrum, the great Scuderia Ferrari had an awful day at their home Grand Prix, which is just a pleasant ride on the autostrade from home base in Maranello. Their excellent #1 driver, Spaniard Fernando Alonso, saw his engine completely shut down in self defense on lap 29 due to ERS failure. It was the former two-time World Champion’s first DNF due to mechanical failure since 2010. That left it to teammate Kimi Raikkonen to salvage a result for Ferrari and the huge numbers of tifosi in the stands and while the Finn was able to take the last point by coming home 10th (later elevated to 9th via penalty) it’s doubtful there was a lot of joy during Sunday dinner in Italy.

For the rest of the Top 10, Daniel Ricciardo, who won the previous race at Spa-Francorchamps after the two Mercedes’ unfortunate coming together on lap 2, once again proved that he is the superior driver in this year’s Red Bull chassis. The Australian forcefully overtook his 4-time World Champion teammate Sebastien Vettel in the waning laps to secure 5th place despite starting behind him in 9th vs. 8th on the gird. In theory, the remaining schedule should be more advantageous to the nimble RB10 than the super-fast European classics of Spa and Monza so Red Bull seem well positioned to hold off charging Williams for 2nd in the Constructors’ but it seems far from certain that Vettel himself will win a race this year.

Sergio Perez drove superbly for Force India, dicing for several laps with his ex McLaren teammate, Jenson Button. When it seemed that Button had him passed Perez fought back to retake the position and secure 7th. Button, who praised the young Mexican for the respectful give and take as the fight raged, came home 8th. His fellow McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen, who fought well and aggressively, was given a time penalty for the second race weekend in a row after being judged guilty of forcing Perez off track in the chicane. So while he came home 7th in the race he was relegated to 10th afterwards. That loss of points enabled Force India to creep ever so closer to the great McLaren for 5th in the Constructors’ Championship, 109-110, a stunningly competitive fight for lucrative post-season funds that must have Force India delirious with happiness and Ron Denis and McLaren absolutely gnashing their teeth.

Adjusted Top 10 finishers from Italy here:

Complete race results available at Formula1.com.

The next race weekend is September 19 – 21 at the stunning nocturnal street circuit in Singapore. With the championship fight between the two Mercedes antagonists reaching full boil and a very tight and technical track to deal with it should be well worth tuning in to. Hope to see you then!