Formula One: Italian Grand Prix at the Monza racetrack Highlights (Part 4)
The race patiently awaited the top 5 diving into the pits; Button was able to set another fastest lap at the end of lap 35 after being told to push over the radio before his pit stop. Will the McLaren be able to open a sizeable advantage on track to rejoin the race still ahead? Will the McLaren pit crew be able to support its driver in retaining pole position?
With 17 laps to go in the Italian Grand Prix, Mercedes’ Rosberg and Red Bull’s Webber dropped to the pit lane speed of 80km/h (A snail’s pace on a F1 car) and opted for harder tyres. Rosberg rejoined the race in P7 while Webber reentered in 9th place – Losing out to Kubica’s Renault.
McLaren blinked first! Lap 37 saw the solitary McLaren finally heading into the pits. The stop and go was a decent one as Button rejoined in 3rd place making it temporarily a Ferrari 1-2 at Monza, Alonso’s potential pit stop had the home crowd on tenterhooks.
Next lap, both Hulkenberg and Webber were able to overtake an unsettled Kubica. Alonso dived into the pits and after a swift tyre replacement, the Ferrari rejoined the track ahead of Button as the tifosi (Ferrari fans) rejoiced. The sound was deafening, as the Scarlet colors made their feelings heard, cheering on the Spaniard and commending the Italian team pit crew.
Button was right on the back of the Ferrari and had the advantage with a warmer set of tyres. If the McLaren wanted to snatch its place back, it had to make its move as soon as possible. The further the Ferrari ran, the more settled it was bound to get, as the new tyres began to reach racing temperature. Importantly for Ferrari, Fernando Alonso survived the pressure from Button at the end of the 39th lap and began to open up a bit of breathing space at the end of the lap.
Vettel and Petrov were the only cars yet to pit. Webber was desperately looking for a way past Hulkenberg as Alonso was able to post his first fastest lap on the new tyres – 3 tenths quicker than Button.
Vettel lapped over a second quicker than Webber on the 41st lap. It seemed that the German may come out at the top of Red Bull at the end of the race unless Webber could find a way to come out ahead of Hulkenberg. Following added pressure, the Williams driver was forced into a mistake as he straight lined the chicane and was bound to be investigated by the stewards. He didn’t lose track position and was able to lap quicker than Vettel on the lap.
Interestingly, Vettel and Petrov were still to pit. A sign of going the entire race distance on a single set of tyres? Sounds risky, whether it was a gamble or tactical switch remained to be seen. Alonso further extended his lead at the end of lap 43, building up a 3.6 second gap to Button. The top 3 position looked to be set. It was Vettel’s stop that was left to figure out the rest of the top 10.
Webber responded by reminding that there were ‘two’ Red Bulls on track, setting the fastest lap in P7 – Over a second faster than his team mate. Vettel promptly answered back with a personal fastest lap, half a second quicker than the Mercedes of Rosberg behind him. It was hard to predict where the Red Bull driver would come out after his pits. Alonso was running away with the game as he led a comfortable 3.8 seconds at the front.
With six laps to go, it was getting more and more bizarre seeing Vettel and Petrov still to enter the pits – A feat yet to be achieved this season as the race entered the next lap.
Will we witness history in the making?
Stay tuned...
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