Background
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its silver-banded hard compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the white-banded medium compound tyre as the softer "option" tyre.
Race
Pastor Maldonado received two five-place grid penalties. the first for jumping the start of the Belgian Grand Prix and the second for causing an avoidable accident with Timo Glock after Grosjean's accident. Paul di Resta was also demoted five places for an unscheduled gearbox change on Saturday morning, his second gearbox penalty of the season. Felipe Massa made a great start to pass Jenson Button for second place. He pulled alongside pole sitter Lewis Hamilton going into the first chicane, but Hamilton had the inside line and was able to stay ahead. Fernando Alonso was able to make his way up from 10th to 7th place by the end of the first lap, and passed Kimi Räikkönen for 6th going into the first chicane on the second lap. On lap 4, Sebastian Vettel passed Michael Schumacher under braking into the first chicane for 4th place. One lap later, Bruno Senna attempted to pass Nico Rosberg around the outside into the first chicane. Senna turned into Rosberg, they banged wheels, and Senna went straight through the chicane to take 11th. Fernando Alonso was able to pass Schumacher coming out of the Parabolica on lap 7. On lap 8, Bruno Senna tried to pass Paul di Resta on the outside going into the second chicane. Di Resta moved over, forcing Senna onto the gravel. Senna went straight through the chicane and back onto the racing line right in front of Mark Webber, who dodged around him as they entered the first Lesmo corner. On the next lap, Jean-Éric Vergne had a right rear suspension failure under braking into the first chicane. He spun and slid sideways over one of the curbs, launching his car into the air o... Jenson Button retook 2nd place from Felipe Massa in the 2nd chicane on lap 19, who was suffering from a loss of telemetry and pitted on lap 20. Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel pitted at the same time on lap 21, and came out right behind Massa with only a car's length separating each of the three. Lewis Hamilton pitted on lap 24, allowing Sergio Pérez, who hadn't pitted yet, to take the lead from 2nd. On lap 26, Fernando Alonso tried to go around the outside of Sebastian Vettel through Curva Grande. Vettel moved to the outside, pushing Alonso off the track and onto the grass. Alonso managed to keep control of his car and was furious at Vettel's antics. The move was similar to a move Vettel pulled on Alonso the year before, but this time Vettel was given a drive-through penalty. Alonso was able to pass Vettel on lap 29, and the drive-through on lap 35 put Vettel in 9th place behind Webber. Sebastian Vettel , Nico Hülkenberg and Mark Webber retired but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the winner's race distance Drivers' Championship standings Constructors' Championship standings
Driver changes
Ma Qinghua became the first Chinese driver to take part in a Grand Prix weekend when he drove Narain Karthikeyan 's HRT F112 in the first free practice session on Friday morning. Valtteri Bottas drove Bruno Senna 's Williams FW34 in the same session, while Jules Bianchi took Paul di Resta 's place at Force India .
Free practice
Mercedes AMG driver Michael Schumacher was fastest in the first practice session, three-tenths of a second quicker than Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg . For Lotus , Jérôme d'Ambrosio finished the session fifteenth, over a second and a half slower than Schumacher and sixth-tenths down on teammate Kimi Räikkönen . Ma Qinghua was the slowest runner after ninety minutes, nearly six seconds slower than Schumacher, and within two seconds of teammate Pedro de la Rosa . At the end of the session,... Lewis Hamilton was the fastest driver in the second session, narrowly edging out Button and Alonso, the latter of whom had another disrupted session with a series of technical problems surrounding the gearbox and brakes that limited his time on the circuit. Having set the fastest time in the morning session, Schumacher finished tenth following a series of off-track excursions. He was highly-critical of the speed bumps placed around the Variante della Roggia chicane, claiming they were a s... Hamilton was once again fastest in the third session, just one thousandth of a second ahead of Alonso. Paul di Resta finished the session third, while Sebastian Vettel suffered a loss of power on his final lap and pulled over at the Roggia chicane. The Red Bull RB8 was consistently one of the slowest cars through the speed trap, evidenced by the way neither Red Bull driver featured in the top ten runners in any of the free practice sessions, with the exception of Mark Webber , who set the...
Qualifying
Notes:
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 53 | 1:19:41.221 |
| 2 | 15 | Sergio Pérez | Sauber-Ferrari | 53 | +4.356 |
| 3 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 53 | +20.594 |
| 4 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 53 | +29.667 |
| 5 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 53 | +30.881 |
| 6 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 53 | +31.259 |
| 7 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 53 | +33.550 |
| 8 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 53 | +41.057 |
| 9 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 53 | +43.898 |
| 10 | 19 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 53 | +48.144 |
Qualifying
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:24.211 | 1:24.394 |
| 2 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:24.672 | 1:24.255 |
| 3 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:24.882 | 1:24.505 |
| 4 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:24.875 | 1:24.345 |
| 5 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:25.302 | 1:24.675 |
| 6 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1:25.011 | 1:24.687 |
| 7 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:24.689 | 1:24.515 |
| 8 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:25.151 | 1:24.742 |
| 9 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:25.317 | 1:24.683 |
| 10 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:24.175 | 1:24.242 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
The air hangs thick with the scent of diesel and ambition today – 28 degrees and relentlessly bright. McLaren's sixty-second lock-out wasn't just about raw speed; those MP4-28s were running a revised 1. 6-liter V6 turbo-hybrid unit, subtly tweaked after Spa, apparently attempting to wrestle back a precious 8-10 horsepower. Don't be fooled by the slickness of the track, the Renault engine was already showing signs of strain, a known vulnerability. Alonso's podium finish felt almost… generous, considering the Lotus-Renault's tire degradation issues.
The air hung thick with the scent of diesel and anticipation – a deceptive calm before the storm at Monza. Sixty-two front-row lock-outs for McLaren, a record that, frankly, feels almost…clinical. Consider the statistical dissonance: Hamilton's victory, a scant four seconds ahead of Pérez, while Fernando Alonso languished on the podium. It's a curious reflection of the season's broader narrative – flashes of brilliance punctuated by frustratingly uneven execution.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The air tasted of burnt rubber and simmering ambition. Pérez, relentlessly pushing, a calculated risk – or was it? Heard whispers from Mercedes, a subtle adjustment to his telemetry, a gentle nudge towards a more aggressive strategy. Button, predictably, shadowed him, a veteran's instinct battling the young gun's audacity. Don't mistake it for a simple race, though. The vultures circling McLaren's fading dominance were already sharpening their talons. This wasn't just about Monza; it was about the future of a team teetering on the precipice.
The scent of diesel and anticipation hangs thick here, doesn't it? You can practically taste the tension radiating from Alonso. He's been a shadow of himself this weekend, hasn't he? A flicker of the old fire, perhaps, when he shadowed Pérez through the first stint, but the frustration is palpable. It's not just the podium position snatched away; it's the knowledge that McLaren, for once, had the upper hand. Button, meanwhile, seems to be operating on autopilot, a careful, calculated drive. He's not pushing, not really, and that's the difference, isn't it? The Spanish Grand Prix last year offered a similar display, a quiet dominance masking a simmering discontent.