Round 14 of the 2010 championship headed to Monza, and the title battle was as tight as ever. The top five were separated by 41 points, and with still 150 available, all was to play for. Hamilton lead from three points from Webber. Vettel was a further 16 points adrift, with Button and Alonso not far behind the German. In the constructors’ championship, only a point separated Red Bull and McLaren.
Ferrari were the vocal point, in more ways than one, heading into the weekend. The FIA council had decided not to punish the team for ordering Massa to let Alonso by in Hockenheim. They had to pay a fine to cover the costs of the case, and the sanctions on team orders was to be reviewed at the end of the year.
2010 Italian Grand Prix
In Q1, the usual suspects were knocked out. Luizzi suffered technical issues, and only qualified in 20th place. Glock who qualified 21st, had to start the race in last place, due to a gearbox change. In Q2, the biggest casualties was Schumacher and Petrov. Schumacher qualified in 12th place, whilst his team-mate, Rosberg made it into the final part of qualifying. Petrov qualified 15th, but got demoted to 20th place, after blocking Glock in the first part of qualifying. Both Williams got into Q3, and Hulkenberg out-qualified his team-mate, Barrichello, in eighth-place. Red Bull had a poor session, with Webber fourth and Vettel in sixth-place. Ferrari had a great session, in front of the Tifosi, qualifying first and third, with Alonso and Massa respectively.
Qualifying
1 Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
2 Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes
3 Felipe Massa, Ferrari
4 Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault
5 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes
6 Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault
7 Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
8 Nico Hulkenberg, Williams-Cosworth
9 Robert Kubica, Renault
10 Rubens Barrichello, Williams-Cosworth
11 Adrian Sutil, Force India-Renault
12 Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
13 Kamui Kobayashi, BMW Sauber-Ferrari
14 Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso-Ferrari
15 Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso-Ferrari
16 Pedro de la Rosa, BMW Sauber-Ferrari
17 Jarno Trulli, Lotus-Cosworth
18 Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus-Cosworth
19 Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India-Renault
20 Vitaly Petrov, Renault
21 Lucas di Grassi, Virgin-Cosworth
22 Bruno Senna, HRT-Cosworth
23 Sakon Yamamoto, HRT-Cosworth
24Timo Glock, Virgin-Cosworth
Webber got a bad getaway, slipping down to ninth-place. Button took the lead into Rettifilo, with Hamilton also making a good start. He challenged the Ferraris into Roggia, but broke his front tyre rod, colliding with Massa, and had to retire. Kobayashi had to retire on the first lap due to a gearbox issue. Webber took Schumacher at Rettifilo for eighth-place on lap six. Senna retired on lap 11, due to a hydraulic failure. Webber took Vettel on lap 20, who was suffering engine problems, at Parabolica, for seventh-place. Button and Alonso were in a titanic battle for the lead, with a second between them, and both teams telling their drivers to go for it. Button pitted on lap 36. A lap later, Alonso pitted, and came out just ahead of the Brit. Both drivers challenged each other heading into Rettifio, with the Spaniard coming out on top. Massa pitted on lap 38, handing the lead to Alonso. Webber took Kubica at Curva Grande for sixth-place. Vettel’s engine problems had vanished, and he was still to pit, which meant he was just behind Massa in fourth-place. Hulkenberg, whilst defending fifth-place from Webber, kept going off track, and seemingly gaining an advantage to hold back the Australian. The stewards didn’t give out any penalty to the Williams driver, and Webber would have to pass him on track in racing conditions. Trulli retired on lap 46 with a gearbox issue. Webber finally got past Hulkenberg on lap 49 at Roggia. Vettel, who had gone the whole race on his prime tyres, pitted on the penultimate lap, and the strategy paid off as he leapfrogged Rosberg for fourth-place. Alonso, three seconds clear of Button, took Ferrari’s first win on home soil since Schumacher in 2006. Massa came in third-place to give Ferrari their first double Italian podium since 2004.
Race
Position Driver Time Points
1 Alonso 1 hour 16 minutes 24.572 seconds 25
2 Button +2.938 seconds 18
3 Massa +4.223 15
4 Vettel +28.196 12
5 Rosberg +29.942 10
6 Webber +31.276 8
7 Hulkenberg +32.812 6
8 Kubica +34.028 4
9 Schumacher +44.948 2
10 Barrichello +64.213 1
Webber was the new championship leader, five points ahead of Hamilton, but the other three of Alonso, Button and Vettel had closed in on the pair. With the European section of the season over, and only 24 points covering the top five, an epic end to the year looked on the cards.
Drivers’ Standings
Position Driver Points
1 Webber 187
2 Hamilton 182
3 Alonso 166
4 Button 165
5 Vettel 163
Constructors’ Standings
Position Constructor Points
1 Red Bull 350
2 McLaren 347
3 Ferrari 290
4 Mercedes 158
5 Renault 127
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