Lewis Hamilton wins 2012 Italian GP

Lewis Hamilton has converted his pole position into a race win at the 2012 Italian Grand Prix. It’s his first win at Monza and McLaren’s 180th win in all. Hamilton was prominent all weekend and, despite a fast charging Felipe Massa (Ferrari) into the first corner, was never really troubled at the head of the field.

And yet it was Fernando Alonso who finished third and ended up being the real winner. It was as if the Ferrari ace was parting the red sea as he charged his way through the field from P10. He reached as high as P2 before a fast charging Sergio Perez (Sauber), himself starting from P12, overtook Alonso late in the race to equal his best finish in Formula 1.

The current era of F1 generally sees reliability throughout the field, but it was not the case at Monza this weekend. First, Jenson Button (McLaren) retired with a fuel pickup issue, then Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) was given a drive through penalty for forcing Alonso wide and off track. At least that’s what the stewards thought, the decision seemed a tad harsh from our lounge room. Worse was to come for Vettel with an alternator problem ending his race on lap 47. Red Bull’s day turned decidedly sour on lap 51 of 53 when Mark Webber kissed a bit too much kerb and sent himself into a spin. He managed to avoid the fences, but the resultant flat spots on his tyres sent him into pitlane for an early shower.

So, after all that, it was a double retirement for Red Bull—their first for 34 races— and Fernando Alonso managed to extend his championship lead by 13 points. A pretty handy result for the tifosi to cheer on after their hero started so far down the field.

For Australia’s other driver, Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), he lost his grip on the final championship point on the last lap of the race. So, not a great day for the Aussies. But at least Ricciardo had a better day than his teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne, who crashed out on lap 8 due to a problem with one of his rear wheels.

Making the smile on Hamilton’s face a little larger is the news he has moved from fifth to second in the drivers’ championship. He’s 35 points behind Alonso with eight races left in the season.

2012 Italian Grand Prix final placings

1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 53 Laps – 25pts
2. Sergio Perez (Sauber), +4.3 secs – 18pts
3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), +20.5 secs – 15pts
4. Felipe Massa (Ferrari), +29.6 secs – 12pts
5. Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus), +30.8 secs – 10pts
6. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes AMG), +31.2 secs – 8pts
7. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG), +33.5 secs – 6pts
8. Paul di Resta (Force India), +41.0 secs – 4pts
9. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), +43.8 secs – 2pts
10. Bruno Senna (Williams), +48.1 secs – 1pt
11. Pastor Maldonado (Williams), +48.6 secs
12. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), +50.3 secs
13. Jerome D’Ambrosio (Lotus), +75.8 secs
14. Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham), +1 Lap
15. Vitaly Petrov (Caterham), +1 Lap
16. Charles Pic (Marussia), +1 Lap
17. Timo Glock (Marussia), +1 Lap
18. Pedro de la Rosa (HRT), +1 Lap
19. Narain Karthikeyan (HRT), +1 Lap

Not classified/retirements

Mark Webber (Red Bull), Lap 51
Nico Hulkenberg (Force India), Lap 50
Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Lap 47
Jenson Button (McLaren), Lap 32
Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), Lap 8

Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG), 1:27.239 (Lap 53)

2012 World Championship top 10 (Drivers) – Round 13

1. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 179
2. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) – 142
3. Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus) – 141
4. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 140
5. Mark Webber (Red Bull) – 132
6. Jenson Button (McLaren) – 101
7. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG) – 83
8. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 76
9. Sergio Perez (Sauber) – 65
10. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) – 47

2012 World Championship (Constructors) – Round 13

1. Red Bull Racing-Renault – 272
2. McLaren-Mercedes – 243
3. Ferrari – 226
4. Lotus-Renault – 217
5. Mercedes AMG – 126
6. Sauber-Ferrari – 100
7. Force India-Mercedes – 63
8. Williams-Renault – 54
9. STR-Ferrari – 12