Vettel Leads the Charge in Italy as Ferrari Seek to Make Amends
Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel has topped the time sheets in Monza for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix second practice session. Trailing behind the German were Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa respectively. Expectations are high over Ferrari’s chances in Monza, and the Scuderia will have a crucial home advantage in Italy. Meanwhile McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button notched up in the fourth and fifth places respectively after dominating the first practice session in Monza earlier in the day. Vettel’s Red Bull team mate, Mark Webber finished 6th after his session ended prematurely due to mechanical complications with his RB6.
William’s Rubens Barrichello had a productive practice run where he was able to finish 7th, beating Renault’s Robert Kubica to the spot. Barrichello’s Williams team mate, Nico Hulkenberg was right behind Kubica, sealing the 9th position in the second practice session for the Italian Grand Prix. The 10th spot was booked by Mercedes GP’s German driver, Nico Rosberg, who once again managed to out perform his veteran team mate and seven times world champion, Michael Schumacher.
Ferrari will be predictably anxious to make amends for the blunders that have cost the team the championship lead this season. Meanwhile, the Italian side must be relieved to have escaped a costly penalty for its breach of team orders regulations at the German Grand Prix earlier this year. The Scuderia had been referred to the World Motor sport Council (WMSC) after it became obvious that the team had resorted to team strategy to contrive a victory for Fernando Alonso at the expense of a first- place finish for his team mate, Felipe Massa. Race stewards in Hockenheim immediately slapped the team with a fine and referred the Scuderia to the WMSC for further action over the issue.
However, the controversial victory in Germany was insufficient in giving Alonso the championship lead, and the Spaniard’s point’s advantage was further eroded in subsequent campaigns. Alonso fell foul of bad luck and driving errors at the recent Belgian Grand Prix, failing to bag any points for his team. A favourable showing at the Italian Grand Prix will be crucial to Alonso’s title hopes, and another disheartening campaign in Monza is likely to end Ferrari’s 2010 championship dreams for good.
Meanwhile, Red Bull Racing, whose, 2010 RB6 machine has been widely touted as the class of the field, have said they will be approaching the Italian Grand Prix with caution. Red Bull’s Mark Webber, whose title hopes are very much alive after a second-place finish at the Belgium Grand Prix, said Monza was a tricky venue for the RB6. Webber, whose budding rivalry with his German team mate has been the subject of intense media scrutiny following a number of well-publicized on-track tussles, recently said that outside the professional circle, he did not know Vettel at all. The Australian driver remarked that the age difference between himself and Vettel was too huge for a friendship to develop between the two team mates.
Vettel too, like Fernando Alonso, will be concerned about making up for a disastrous Belgian campaign where he not only ruined his own championship chances, but also ensured a faultless Jenson Button finished the race pointless. In an audacious and flawed overtaking maneuver, Vettel bumped his RB6 into Button’s MP4-25, knocking the Englishman out of the competition and earning himself a well-earned drive-through penalty which effectively ended his race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Not surprisingly, the McLaren side was reasonably unimpressed by Vettel’s costly error. Jenson Button remarked he had been at a complete loss as to what the German driver had been attempting to do when he had come barging into his MP4-25.
Button will be pleased to have led the proceedings at the Italian Grand Prix’s first practice session in Monza, even though he fell to the fifth spot at the conclusion of the second practice run. Meanwhile, Button’s team mate, Lewis Hamilton will be looking to consolidate his championship lead by winning the competition at Monza this Sunday afternoon.
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