Vettel finishes third in Monza: is it a bad deal?

For his third Italian Grand Prix with the prancing horse (for as many podiums), Sebastian Vettel provided after-sales service (by imitating a certain Fernando Alonso) on the podium. A meager consolation for the 70th anniversary of Scuderia Ferrari!

Handicapped at the end of the race, Vettel doesn’t want to panic

His speech thus began with a few words in Italian, customary thanks to the best audience in the world, in Italian in the text. But that being said, the key element must not be overlooked. The German was never able to get close to the opponent.

« We didn’t have the pace of the Mercedes today. This race was very, very difficult for us. » To top it all off, a little excursion into the gravel trap ruined the end of his session for him, under the threat of Daniel Ricciardo, who came back out of nowhere.

« Something went wrong during the last 15, 20 laps after I went off the track » he said to his radio engineer as soon as the finish line was crossed.

« That’s why I had ups and downs with the engine. Which also explains why Ricciardo was catching up with me so quickly. It was entertaining. My start wasn’t bad. It took me time to gain confidence in the car » said the third of the day on the podium, at the microphone of Jean Alesi.

Fortunately for him, the four-time world champion enjoyed himself… at the start, despite a poor impulse.

« It was quite fun. Even though my start was difficult because I had some skidding. It took me some time to really trust the car and make some progress! »

So, how should we approach Sebastian Vettel’s personal performance at Monza? Based on the beginning of the weekend, this third place is damage control. Mercedes was the favorite and easily confirmed its status.

Nonetheless, the flexibility of the car’s settings can raise questions, given the qualifiers.

And above all, the former Red Bull protégé gives up the lead in the championship for the first time. But nothing is lost with a three-point deficit. He will just need to replicate his exploits in the night of Singapore to clinch a fifth local victory.

You can say it was a bad day, but I know the team is on the right track. There are a lot of things that are improving. More generally, it’s not great to see where we are. But I know we will come back stronger, so I’m in a good mood.

Räikkönen and the grip demons

His advantage over his teammate did not last beyond the second lap. Starting fifth, he was overtaken by Vettel at the exit of the second chicane during the third lap. Unlike his garage neighbor, the 2007 world champion remained stuck behind the Ocon-Stroll duo. This difficulty forced him to make his first pit stop as early as the 14th lap. But not paying close attention, he hadn’t noticed the identity of his opponents.

« The first round was okay. But from there, I struggled a lot behind… I don’t know exactly who it was. »

This undercut was half successful. Stroll rejoined behind him during his own pit stop. Then the Finn managed to overtake Ocon on the track. However, he encountered new difficulties in finding grip… A recurring issue for Iceman this season. Today, the Parabolica was particularly tricky!

« I lost the car when entering certain corners. Fortunately, it got a bit better afterwards, except in the last corner, where I slipped a few times. »

His provisional fourth place, however, became the fifth again when Daniel Ricciardo passed him in a flash on the inside of the first corner on lap 41.

I didn’t have good straight-line speed: I was still able to pass those guys. It was just a tough day. I also think the whole weekend wasn’t easy. I often lacked grip, so I didn’t have the speed to do anything. But if you look at the calendar, it’s probably one of the most challenging tracks for us, unfortunately.

Lucid, Kimi Räikkönen must therefore make the best of a bad situation and wait another two weeks to find the ideal grip. Might he succeed in Singapore? But in the meantime, he’s still fifth in the overall standings, exactly 100 points behind the new leader…

From our special correspondent in Monza