Background
Jenson Button led the Drivers Championship by 16 points from Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello , who led Red Bull's third placed man Sebastian Vettel by 3 points. Brawn led the Constructors Championship by 23½ points from Red Bull who were a further 48½ points ahead of winners of the previous race , Ferrari .
Race
Renault decided to use KERS for the first time since Spanish Grand Prix weekend. At the start, Lewis Hamilton held onto his lead with Kimi Räikkönen in second, ahead of Adrian Sutil . Heikki Kovalainen , on a one-stop fuel strategy was overtaken by the similarly fuelled Brawns of Rubens Barrichello , off the start line, and Jenson Button , through the second Lesmo. Championship contender Mark Webber was spun by Robert Kubica at Della Roggia on the opening lap and was forced to retire. By Lap 15, Kubica had also retired with an oil leak. Before this, on lap 9, Kubica w... The battle for the lead was tactical, with the Brawn cars stopping only once while Hamilton was on a two-stop strategy. Barrichello and Button were able to lap consistently faster than Hamilton despite their heavier fuel load, meaning when Hamilton emerged from his second pit stop he found himself behind both Brawns in third position. Reigning World Champion Hamilton tried in vain to overtake Championship leader Button over the final few laps before crashing into the barriers on the exit ... The poor performance from the Red Bull cars, combined with Brawn's 1–2 finish, meant the Drivers Championship became effectively a two-horse race between Button, who led Barrichello by 14 points with four races to go. Vettel was 26 points behind Button with Webber a further 2.5 points adrift. Brawn team boss Ross Brawn said after the race he would allow his drivers to compete amongst themselves for the Drivers Championship, as his team was virtually assured of the Constructors Championship. [ 15... Webber admitted frustration at his first non-finish of the year following such a "small" accident, while Vettel insisted his Championship chances were not over. McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh did not criticise Hamilton for his last lap crash, stating the accident was a result of the Briton's "never-give-up attitude, his unquenchable desire to fight until the very last metre of the very last lap." The focus of the F1 paddock after the race, however, was on the looming Crash... Lewis Hamilton mathematically conceded the defence of his 2008 World Championship following the result of this race as only Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were mathematically able to win the Championship. 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen also mathematically conceded the World Championship as a result of this race, while 2005 and 2006 World Champion Fernando Alonso was already out of contention before this race. As a result, it meant following this race ... Cars that use the KERS system are marked with "‡"
Practice
The first session of the Italian GP finished with the McLarens on top with Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen first and second fastest, respectively. Force India 's Adrian Sutil finished the session in third. Renault 's Fernando Alonso finished fourth while teammate Romain Grosjean finished fifteenth. Fischella, driving for Ferrari for the first time in his career, finished eighth ahead of teammate Kimi Räikkönen who ended the session in tenth. Toyota's Trulli and Timo Glock were at the ... In the second session Force India's Adrian Sutil was fastest, ahead of the two Renaults of Grosjean and Alonso. Hamilton was eleventh with Kovalainen coming in fourth. Button in a Brawn finished 19th, with only Fisichella separating him from last place. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel came eighteenth, and Mark Webber in fourteenth.
Qualifying
The first session, lasting 20 minutes, decided the final five places on the grid. Five minutes into the session Liuzzi ran off the track but did not damage his car and managed to proceed through to the next part of qualifying. Räikkönen topped the session ahead of Hamilton and Kovalainen. Both Toro Rossos and both Williams cars were knocked out along with the Toyota of Timo Glock. Fisichella made it through to the next session, making it the first time since the Hungarian Gra... The second session, lasting 15 minutes, decided positions 11 to 15. Five minutes into the session Nick Heidfeld 's BMW engine gave way to leave him in 15th for the race. Seven minutes later, the other BMW of Robert Kubica appeared to have the same problem and pulled off with engine problems just before the first corner. This left Kubica qualifying in 13th. Fisichella was unable to make it through to the final session of qualifying. Button topped the session, with Hamilton in second and For... The final session, lasting ten minutes, decided the top ten positions. Early on, Alonso set the fastest time in the first sector, but it was Räikkönen who had the best time overall. Very soon afterwards Hamilton set the fastest lap, while Webber, Alonso, Sutil and Räikkönen traded second place. The chequered flag fell and very few cars were still out, but it was Hamilton who came out on top to snatch pole from Sutil. Although Button qualified sixth and his teammate Barrichello in fi... Cars that use the KERS system are marked with "‡"
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Part 1 | Part 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1‡ | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:23.375 | 1:22.973 |
| 2 | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1:23.576 | 1:23.070 |
| 3 | 4‡ | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:23.349 | 1:23.426 |
| 4 | 2‡ | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:23.515 | 1:23.528 |
| 5 | 23 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn-Mercedes | 1:23.483 | 1:22.976 |
| 6 | 22 | Jenson Button | Brawn-Mercedes | 1:23.403 | 1:22.955 |
| 7 | 21 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Force India-Mercedes | 1:23.578 | 1:23.207 |
| 8 | 7‡ | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:23.708 | 1:23.497 |
| 9 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1:23.558 | 1:23.545 |
| 10 | 14 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1:23.755 | 1:23.273 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
The air at Monza, thick with the scent of high-octane fuel and anticipation, held a palpable tension. Barrichello, piloting a Brawn GP car boasting a 2. 6-liter V10 engine producing upwards of 900 horsepower, seized the moment, executing a flawlessly timed lap to secure victory. Hamilton's final-corner shunt, exacerbated by a tire degradation issue – the Bridgestone compound struggling particularly in the Italian heat – robbed Ferrari of a crucial points haul. A sobering reminder, perhaps, that even the most dominant machinery can succumb to the relentless pressures of a demanding circuit and a strategically misjudged tire strategy.
The air hangs thick with the scent of high-octane fuel and the echoes of a truly seismic shift. Hamilton's exit, a catastrophic unraveling on the penultimate lap, doesn't merely deny him victory; it dismantles a championship narrative that had seemed almost preordained. Observe the stark contrast – a 1. The statistical anomaly here is the disproportionate impact of a single error, a divergence from the established pattern of Red Bull's dominance, a pattern that, for a brief, glorious period, had seemed immutable.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
There it goes! A catastrophic loss of control, the scarlet machine splintering against the Tamburello curve. Hamilton, poised to claim victory, undone by a rear tire failure – a cruel echo of the '64 Portuguese Grand Prix, where Stewart's suspension sent him spinning into the barriers. The championship, seemingly within his grasp, now slips away, mirroring the fragility of dominance itself. This, then, is the brutal calculus of motorsport; a single element, a moment of mechanical distress, can rewrite history. The Brawn GP duo, meanwhile, celebrate, a testament to strategic brilliance and, perhaps, a subtle shift in the balance of power. The echoes of Monza's storied past resonate, a constant reminder that legacy is earned, not simply gifted.
The rain, a persistent, sullen grey, mirrored the mood hanging over the Toleman garage. Nicolas Laputa, a young man possessed of a fierce, almost unsettling determination, meticulously adjusted the telemetry readout. He'd spent the entire session chasing a ghost – a fleeting improvement, a whisper of grip – a familiar tactic for a driver yearning to prove himself. The pit wall buzzed with terse instructions, a stark contrast to the palpable frustration radiating from the young Frenchman. A legacy of brilliance, the shadow of Senna, felt heavy upon him, a pressure he carried with a quiet intensity. This Monza circuit, a cathedral of speed, demanded respect, and Laputa, with a steely gaze, prepared to offer it. The championship battle, of course, was a distant second to the immediate challenge.