2011 Italian Grand Prix Results
From Belgium, teams headed to Italy for the 13th race of the season. Held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit, it is famous for being one of the oldest Grand Prix locales, dating back to 1922. The track at Monza is famous for its speed and banked corners, challenging drivers. Sebastian Vettel was coming into the Italian Grand Prix, having just won the Belgian Grand Prix. Vettel was not to be stopped and he took home the win at Monza, followed by Jenson Button in second place and Fernando Alonso in third place.
Qualifying took place in good conditions, with Bruno Senna driving for Renault, replacing Nick Heidfeld. Right off the bat, Pastor Maldonado crashed into the barriers, but was able to continue and qualify in 14th position by replacing his front wing. There were no incidents after Maldonado's, with top drivers battling for pole position. Pole position was clinched by Vettel, his 10th pole position of the season. He was followed by Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. Mark Webber only achieved a disappointing fifth place on the grid.
The race started with an immediate altercation, forcing the safety car out on lap 1! Alonso was quick off the grid, taking the lead into the first corner. However, carnage followed him, at Vitantonio Liuzzi touched Heikki Kovaleinen, who was forced off the track, right into Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg. Which meant that before lap 1 was completed, three drivers were out of the race: Liuzzi, Rosberg and Petrov. Jerome d'Ambrosio also retired, unrelated, during lap 1 with gearbox problems. Liuzzi received a five-place penalty for the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix for causing the crash.
After the carnage Vettel was in his most comfortable position, as the leader, which meant that Alonso's lead was very short-lived. Lap 5 brought the next incident, when Webber hits the curb and crashes into the rear of Felipe Massa. Although Massa spins, he manages to finish the race in 6th place. Things did not turn out well for Webber, who ended up hitting the wall and had to retire from the race. This will significantly hurt his Drivers' Championship standings.
Vettel and Alonso continue back-to-back at blistering speeds, but with Vettel taking the lead in lap 6. Michael Schumacher, who has won the Italian Grand Prix five times in the past, was driving well. For a while, he was giving Alonso a run for his money for second place. Schumacher ends up finishing the race in 5th place, his second best finish this season. Vettel can't be stopped and the battle continues behind him for 2nd and 3rd place. Button ends up overtaking Alonso in lap 26 and in lap 27 Hamilton manages to overtake Schumacher, who has been blocking his moves for the last 7 laps.
Three other drivers end up retiring from the race, Adrian Sutil, Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez. Bringing the total number of drivers to eight, that were unable to complete the Italian Grand Prix - a very high fall-out rate.
Vettel's win firmly entrenches his lead in the Drivers' Championship standings, with 284 points. With six races left in the season and a 112 point lead over second place Alonso, Vettel can clinch the Drivers' Championship title with a win in Singapore, with several caveats - Alonso can't finish in 2nd or 3rd and Button and Webber cannot finish 2nd. Webber's retirement from the Italian Grand Prix has hurt his standings, forcing him to lose his 2nd place position to Alonso (with 172 points) and dropping his ranking to a tied 3rd place with Button and 167 points.
With Vettel's 1st place finish, Red Bull extends their lead in the Constructors' Championship standings, with 451 points. This puts them 126 points ahead of 2nd place McLaren-Mercedes, which managed to narrow the gap from 131 points with their 2-4 finish at Monza, giving them 325 points. Ferrari remains in 3rd place, also getting a boost from their 3-6 finish, giving them a total of 254 points. Three teams continue to have zero points: Lotus, Virgin and HRT-Cosworth.
Full Race Results
- Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing-Renault) 1:20:46.172s
- Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) +9.590s
- Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) +16.909s
- Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) +17.417s
- Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) +32.677s
- Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +42.993s
- Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) +1 lap
- Paul di Resta (Force India-Mercedes) +1 lap
- Bruno Senna (Renault) +1 lap
- Sebastian Buemi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) +1 lap
- Pastor Maldonado (Williams-Cosworth) +1 lap
- Rubens Barrichello (Williams-Cosworth) +1 lap
- Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus-Renault) +2 laps
- Jarno Trulli (Lotus-Renault) +2 laps
- Timo Glock (Virgin-Cosworth) +2 laps
- Daniel Ricciardo (HRT-Cosworth) not classified, retired, lap 39*
- Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber-Ferrari) retired, lap 21
- Adrian Sutil (Force India-Mercedes) retired, lap 9
- Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) retired, lap 4
- Jerome d'Ambrosio (Virgin-Cosworth) retired, lap 1
- Vitaly Petrov (Renault) retired, lap 0
- Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) retired, lap 0
- Vitantonio Liuzzi (HRT-Cosworth) retired, lap 0
* Ricciardo was not classified, as he completed less than 90% of the race distance.