Race
Fernando Alonso took his fourth win of the season, leading home the fourth one-two finish of the season for McLaren as Lewis Hamilton finished second. It was McLaren 's eighth victory at Monza and Mercedes ' fourth, while Alonso became the first Spaniard to win the Italian Grand Prix . It turned out to be his last win for McLaren, and McLaren's last 1-2 finish until the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix . The top three held station from the start, but Kimi Räikkönen 's Ferrari jumped Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber and moved into fourth. Jarno Trulli was a big loser in the Toyota , slipping from 9th to 13th, while the big winner was David Coulthard , who went from 20th to 15th in the Red Bull . On lap 2, however, Coulthard crashed at Curva Grande, completely negating the influence of his brilliant start and with his car in a dangerous position the crash forced the safety car to be deployed. This allowed the Super Aguri of Anthony Davidson up into 15th. Hamilton moved back to third place, behind Räikkönen and Alonso, after the two BMW Saubers and Kovalainen pitted, but as the Ferrari driver emerged from his pitstop, Hamilton was still behind. With the extra grip provided by the softer tyres, Hamilton made a move down the inside of turn one to recover second place from Räikkönen, who didn't defend as he had the harder compound tyres and was still suffering from the neck injury he got during his practice accident. Alonso retained the lead. There were no further changes at the front, and Alonso led home by six seconds from Hamilton, with Räikkönen completing the podium. Heidfeld finished in fourth just four seconds ahead of his teammate Kubica, with Rosberg still in close contention in sixth. Kovalainen was seventh, and Jenson Button rounded out the points in a rare foray into the points paying positions for the Honda team.
Qualifying
The two Spykers of Adrian Sutil and Sakon Yamamoto were both eliminated in Q1, along with Vitantonio Liuzzi in the Toro Rosso , Takuma Sato of Super Aguri , and, surprisingly, the Toyota of Ralf Schumacher and David Coulthard 's Red Bull . In the second session, both the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Vettel and Anthony Davidson 's Super Aguri, who had done very well to make the session, were eliminated. So were Giancarlo Fisichella in the Renault , Alexander Wurz of Williams , the Honda of Rubens Barrichello and Coulthard's Red Bull teammate Mark Webber . Jenson Button had done excellently to put the Honda in the top 10, and he qualified tenth, on the fifth row with Jarno Trulli 's Toyota. Nico Rosberg qualified his Williams eighth, alongside the second Renault of Heikki Kovalainen , who had put in a brilliant performance. Robert Kubica took 6th in the BMW Sauber , while his teammate Nick Heidfeld broke the domination of the top 4 by McLaren and Ferrari , beating the Scuderia's Kimi Räikkönen to 4th. However, it was service as normal at the very ...
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45°36′56″N 9°16′52″E / 45.61556°N 9.28111°E / 45.61556; 9.28111
Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Mercedes | 53 | 1:18:37.806 |
| 2 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 53 | +6.062 |
| 3 | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 53 | +27.325 |
| 4 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 53 | +56.562 |
| 5 | 10 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 53 | +1:00.558 |
| 6 | 16 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 53 | +1:05.810 |
| 7 | 4 | Heikki Kovalainen | Renault | 53 | +1:06.751 |
| 8 | 7 | Jenson Button | Honda | 53 | +1:12.168 |
| 9 | 15 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 53 | +1:15.879 |
| 10 | 8 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 53 | +1:16.958 |
Qualifying
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:21.718 | 1:21.356 |
| 2 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:21.956 | 1:21.746 |
| 3 | 5 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:22.309 | 1:21.993 |
| 4 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 1:23.107 | 1:22.466 |
| 5 | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:22.673 | 1:22.369 |
| 6 | 10 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 1:23.088 | 1:22.400 |
| 7 | 4 | Heikki Kovalainen | Renault | 1:23.505 | 1:23.134 |
| 8 | 16 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 1:23.333 | 1:22.748 |
| 9 | 12 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1:23.724 | 1:23.107 |
| 10 | 7 | Jenson Button | Honda | 1:23.639 | 1:23.021 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
The air around Monza always carries a particular tension, doesn't it? Observe the Renault engines – their 3. 0-liter V10s, a brutal symphony of displacement, are operating at a peak 950 horsepower. Ferrari, predictably, is attempting to leverage the inherent grip of the T36 chassis, but the McLaren team's relentless data analysis suggests they're anticipating a significant differential in corner exit speeds, a calculated gamble given the track's notoriously challenging elevation changes. Don't be fooled by the Italian flag waving – Alonso's subtle adjustments to the brake bias, reportedly gleaned from a late-night conversation with the engineering team, could prove the decisive factor.
The air around Monza smells of more than just petrol this weekend. Observe the data; Alonso's second-place finish, a statistical outlier given Ferrari's pre-race dominance, suggests a calculated gamble—perhaps a subtle recalibration of their championship strategy. Let's be frank, the McLaren team's relentless pace, particularly Hamilton's, isn't just about raw speed; it's about meticulously controlling the narrative, isn't it? Don't be fooled by the Italian flag waving; the numbers reveal a far more complex equation.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The air in the McLaren garage tasted of burnt rubber and simmering fury. Alonso, pacing like a caged tiger, wasn't arguing with the engineers – not overtly. Just the way he clenched his fist as the telemetry scrolled past, a silent indictment of Hamilton's relentless pace. Word is, the team principal, Ian Bacon, was attempting to soothe the Spaniard with promises of a revised strategy, a desperate gamble to reclaim control. This wasn't just a race; it was a declaration.
The rain, a persistent, sullen grey, mirrored Alonso's mood perfectly. He'd spent the entire morning dissecting telemetry, convinced Hamilton's aggressive push on the final sector of the last qualifying lap wasn't simply speed, but a deliberate attempt to unsettle him. You could practically taste the simmering resentment radiating from the Spaniard – a familiar tactic, deploying his frustration as a weapon. McLaren, of course, knew this intimately. Ron Dennis wouldn't have authorized that last lap if he hadn't anticipated a reaction. A subtle shift in strategy, a carefully orchestrated provocation. it's the game, isn't it? And Alonso, bless his competitive heart, was playing it with a theatrical intensity that bordered on self-destruction.