Italy – Race: Lewis Hamilton imperial on Italian soil

Formula 1 was caught up in history on this thirteenth weekend of the 2017 season. Indeed, this Sunday was highly symbolic, as enthusiasts celebrated the 70th anniversary of the day’s host. Scuderia Ferrari was participating in a special race, its race of the season, celebrating this milestone. Therefore, would the pressure from the Tifosi be stronger?

To do this, it was necessary to make up for lost time in the qualifications. The autumn conditions particularly affected the prancing horse’s cars. Leader of the championship before the start, Sebastian Vettel’s lead had never seemed so weak! Worse, Lewis Hamilton had made a good move that Saturday. After an epic session, the Brit had written a page of his legend by securing the 69th pole of his career, surpassing Michael Schumacher’s record in the process.

Under a rediscovered sun, the grid was forming in a rather unusual way. Indeed, nine drivers were ultimately penalized as they took their starting positions. Besides the already known list, Stoffel Vandoorne lost the benefit of his impressive tenth place, penalized by 25 spots due to changes to several components on his power unit. Sergio Pérez also received a five-place penalty, yet remained tenth, thanks to the widespread sanctions that had descended upon the paddock!

After yesterday’s deluge, the sun was making a grand return for this race. On the grid, the leading drivers were not the usual ones, as Lance Stroll was in second position, just ahead of Esteban Ocon. The Canadian thus set a new record for precocity. When asked about his start, Esteban Ocon clearly implied that there had been significant discussions with Mercedes and that it was crucial not to disturb Lewis Hamilton in his quest for the title.

The instruction was perfectly followed as Esteban Ocon stayed wisely behind the Briton, after getting the better of Lance Stroll at the first corner. Behind them, Kimi Räikkönen had a good start and passed Valtteri Bottas. But the Mercedes driver was able to regain the upper hand just before the first pass into the Parabolica. Subsequently, he had no trouble shaking off Lance Stroll, to move up to third position.

On the other hand, for Max Verstappen, a new race incident disrupted his race as a collision at the first chicane with Felipe Massa caused a puncture on the front right wheel, nullifying the progress made at the start.

From the fourth lap, Valtteri Bottas overtook Esteban Ocon on the straight and moved into second, already at a good distance from Lewis Hamilton, while Sebastian Vettel found an opening on Kimi Räikkönen. The German took four additional laps to climb onto the provisional podium by getting past Esteban Ocon’s Sahara Force India.

At the end of the 15th lap, Kimi Räikkönen, stuck behind Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll, decides to pit for soft tires. But Sahara Force India reacts the very next lap, allowing the Frenchman to stay ahead of Kimi Räikkönen. Williams waits an extra lap to make the same maneuver, but it’s too late: the Canadian rejoins behind the Ferrari. The latter takes eleven laps to overtake Esteban Ocon and thus climbs back to fifth position. Lance Stroll took advantage to close in on the Frenchman, unable to keep pace with the Ferrari number 7.

Sebastian Vettel was the first of the leading trio to return to the pits on the 31st lap. He was able to come out just ahead of the second Sahara Force India of Sergio Perez. Mercedes did not take long to cover Ferrari’s strategy, as Lewis Hamilton made his own pit stop the following lap, and Valtteri Bottas the lap after that.

In the 34th lap, Honda once again stood out with a new retirement due to an engine problem on Stoffel Vandoorne’s car while the Belgian was in tenth place and could therefore hope to score a new point. This should not make the crucial discussions between McLaren and Honda any easier.

On the other hand, Daniel Ricciardo managed to make the most of the situation despite starting 16th on the grid due to penalties after qualifying. By starting on soft tires, he was able to wait until the 38th lap to pit. He came out just behind Kimi Räikkönen but ahead of Esteban Ocon, chased by the two Williams cars of Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa.

The Australian from Red Bull took advantage of his new super-soft tires to close in on Iceman. He dove from afar at the end of the straight to dive inside the Ferrari, gaining fourth place. He did not stop there and went after the second Ferrari, that of Sebastian Vettel.

But the gap was too large and Honey Badger had to settle for the chocolate medal, while Felipe Massa stayed wisely behind his teammate (except for one attempt on the last lap) as Sergio Perez closed in on the pack formed by Esteban Ocon and the two Williams. Max Verstappen was able to save face with the point for 10th place.

Two laps from the end, Sauber and McLaren had Marcus Ericsson and Fernando Alonso retire so they could replace their gearboxes in anticipation of the demanding Singapore circuit.

Lewis Hamilton therefore makes an excellent championship move, reclaiming the lead with a three-point advantage over Sebastian Vettel. The Briton is also in a position to widen the gap with his teammate, which could prompt the team to implement instructions for the end of the season.

LAP 53/53: END OF RACE 🏁

TOP TEN
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VER#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/utWolnBd0u

— Formula 1 (@F1) 3 septembre 2017