Italy – Race: Rosberg’s bargain

There was a sense of nostalgia this Sunday noon in Monza, just a few strides away from the start of the Italian Grand Prix. After Felipe Massa on Friday, it was Jenson Button who announced this Saturday that he would enter “semi-retirement” at the end of the season, to make way for the young Belgian prodigy Stoffel Vandoorne in 2017. The (gradual) end of an era, certainly!

But as usual, the fans were there to warm the hearts of the drivers. Each Italian fan has their hero, but generally, this hero wears a red suit emblazoned with the Prancing Horse.

Nothing quite like it 👊 #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/FLIRR7MRzr

— Formula 1 (@F1) 4 septembre /f1/actualite/21295-officiel-button-cedera-sa-place-chez-mclaren-a-vandoorne-en-2017.html

In this case, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen carried the hopes of the Tifosi on the starting grid, from the second row. Hopes for victory were very relative given the domination of the Mercedes in Qualifications. Notably that of Lewis Hamilton, who secured his 56th personal pole, nearly half a second ahead of Nico Rosberg, more than eight-tenths ahead of Vettel!

Behind the grid, the spectators were also watching with interest the start of Max Verstappen, starting from a modest seventh place, behind Daniel Ricciardo… but also one of the pleasant surprises, Valtteri Bottas, who had settled into fifth position.

Despite the poleman’s perfect lap, everything was called into question at the moment of the formation lap. 638 meters separated the Mercedes driver from the first corner. What would happen when the five red lights went out? Let’s not forget that Hamilton, like Rosberg, started on soft tires, unlike their closest rivals, who were on super-softs. Still under a beautiful sun, 29 degrees in the air and 38 degrees on the track. The fourteenth round of this season could begin!

Hamilton struggles, Rosberg takes advantage!

At the start, the big loser was Lewis Hamilton. A lot of wheelspin and a very poor start for number 44, overtaken by five cars! Nico Rosberg took the lead at the first corner, defending against an aggressive Vettel, who got off to a great start on his super-soft tires!

At the end of the first lap, Rosberg was ahead of Vettel, Räikkönen, Bottas, Ricciardo, Hamilton, Pérez, Massa, Alonso, and Hülkenberg. A nice gain in positions for Grosjean, moving up from 17th to 12th place.

Without easing up, Lewis Hamilton began a new comeback, admittedly less impressive than at Spa-Francorchamps, but just as crucial. Attacking Ricciardo, the Englishman overtook him on the outside exiting the first corner. A courageous maneuver that saw him gain a position. In that same corner, on the second lap, the first major accident occurred between Palmer and Nasr, who collided. Yellow flag but no safety car to neutralize the race. The Sauber driver retired on the seventh lap.

OUT: PAL and NAS come together 🔥 on lap two #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/WZqplcSUZa

— Formula 1 (@F1) 4 septembre /f1/actualite/21295-officiel-button-cedera-sa-place-chez-mclaren-a-vandoorne-en-2017.html

In the fifth lap of the race, Rosberg was gaining ground, with a slight lead of two seconds over Vettel. A small gap mainly due to the different tire strategies between competitors.

Hamilton faced more difficulties against a Bottas also equipped with a Mercedes engine, albeit a less advanced version than his current opponent. The Finn stayed ahead until the 11th lap, conceding to a very fine move by the reigning world champion, who took a very outside line exiting Parabolica! A great battle between the two drivers, even though Hamilton began to complain over the radio about the degradation of his soft tires. Quiet until then, Max Verstappen was making his way back into the top ten by overtaking Hülkenberg and Alonso.

Two axes of tire strategies: one or two stops?

It was up to the drivers to execute the right pit stop at the right time, with the aforementioned question in mind. From the 14th lap, Bottas initiated the first wave, with a new set of soft tires. The same went for Verstappen, Alonso, and Kyvat, stuck at the bottom of the standings with his Toro Rosso.

On lap 16, the interesting fact with Kimi Räikkönen’s stop was his choice of super-softs again. “Iceman” made a decisive choice here by opting for a two-stop strategy. His teammate stopped at his location on the following lap, making the same tire gamble. It was a complicated stop for the German driver who lost a bit of time due to his mechanics with the tightening of the front left tire. The Ferrari drivers found themselves wheel to wheel, but Vettel remained ahead of Räikkönen. Both Mercedes temporarily moved to the lead.

LAP 17/53: Valuable seconds lost for VET as wheelgun gets jammed #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/0Va99f2LMf

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 4

In fifth temporary position, Romain Grosjean also had an idea in mind: stay on the track as long as possible and make only one stop. However, the Frenchman was being caught up, overtaken by Bottas, Ricciardo, and also Sergio Pérez in the span of three laps. Wise driving from the Haas team member who did not show resistance in these maneuvers, focusing on managing his tires.

The Ferrari Gamble!

On lap 25, Nico Rosberg ceded the lead of the Grand Prix to Lewis Hamilton for a lap. A rather long pit stop and some miscommunication among the mechanics cost his driver a significant second. On the following lap, the other Mercedes came to a halt. This time, it was a very good stop! Consequently, the top four drivers regrouped. Consistent, the two Ferraris remained threatening with their super-soft tires. In a completely different strategy, Rosberg and Hamilton were equipped with medium tires. Five laps later, Rosberg had a 4.6-second lead over Vettel and a 10.5-second lead over Hamilton. As a result, Räikkönen saw the Englishman closing in his rearview mirrors, as Hamilton was improving the fastest lap.

Far from this battle, Pascal Wehrlein experienced another complicated race, this time with a mechanical problem ending his chances. Only Esteban Ocon, on a one-stop strategy, carried the Manor team to a distant 19th place unfortunately.

On the 35th lap, Vettel pitted for a second and final stop. Equipped with soft tires, his goal was now to reach the finish, at least in third place on the podium. Räikkönen copied his teammate by making the same move on the next lap. As a result, Rosberg and Hamilton occupied the top two positions and did not plan to pit again. The German had a nice ten-second lead at the time. Worse, Hamilton made a few small braking errors.

LAP 41/53: HAM takes bumpy route through 1st chicane

📺: “Careful with the lock-ups, Lewis”#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/P6pY6mCmoB

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 4

Rosberg holds on to the lead until the end!

At full speed, the 19 remaining drivers entered the final part of the 53 laps. The two Ferraris sent a little shiver by successively improving the lap record. But the gap remained significant: 12 seconds separated Hamilton from Vettel with eight laps to go. The suspense shifted for a few moments to the battle for fifth place, between Bottas and Ricciardo. A successful overtaking maneuver by the Red Bull driver who lunged inside the chicane of the first corner. Upon re-acceleration, the Australian emerged ahead!

LAP 47/53: Sensational pass by RIC on BOT 👏

TOP TEN
ROS
HAM
VET
RAI
RIC
BOT
VES
PER
MAS
HUL#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/9CH1cnFS5r

— Formula 1 (@F1) 4 septembre /f1/actualite/21295-officiel-button-cedera-sa-place-chez-mclaren-a-vandoorne-en-2017.html

The positions settled definitively for the last ten laps. The McLarens were no longer in the top part of the standings, even though Fernando Alonso secured the fastest lap of the day.

Almost serene from start to finish, Nico Rosberg clinches the Italian Grand Prix! A fruitful season already for car number 6, with a seventh victory this season, marking a personal best. Moreover, he becomes the 36th driver to win at the “temple of speed.”

NICO ROSBERG WINS THE #ITALIANGP!!

MAGNIFICENT DRIVE! JUST AWESOME!! #F1 #GoNico #GoMB pic.twitter.com/Okp6eTcVlY

— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) September 4

Rosberg leaves Europe with a total of 248 points in the overall drivers’ standings, now two points behind Lewis Hamilton, who remains the leader but is now directly under threat from his major rival.

Behind the top six, Verstappen finished seventh, ahead of Pérez, Massa, and Hülkenberg. Romain Grosjean may regret his five-place penalty during Qualifying, as he finished just outside the points.

Voici le classement complet de ce Grand Prix d’Italie /f1/actualite/21295-officiel-button-cedera-sa-place-chez-mclaren-a-vandoorne-en-2017.html:

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (LAP 53/53): Back-to-back wins for ROS 👏 #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/wUDBLBjeKd

— Formula 1 (@F1) 4 septembre /f1/actualite/21295-officiel-button-cedera-sa-place-chez-mclaren-a-vandoorne-en-2017.html

Stay tuned to our site to discover the reactions of the main players in this race!