2014 Formula One Italian GP: Mercedes worships at the Cathedral of Speed

Round 13 of the 2014 Formula One calendar sees the championship making its way to the Cathedral of Speed: Monza, Italy. Monza is known for a few things: notably, the old banked oval, recording the fastest racing speed F1, and the tifosi who will go all out and support Ferrari. Heaven help you if you find yourself in Monza during the GP weekend supporting a different team than the Scuderia.

Saturday qualifying saw Lewis Hamilton snatch P1 from his teammate Nico Rosberg. Valtteri Bottas slotted in at 3rd, while veteran Felipe Massa took 4^th. The McLaren of Kevin Magnussen was 5^th, and Jenson Button rounded up the top six.

As the lights went out to start the Italian GP; Lewis Hamilton suffered a horrendous start. He was quickly gobbled up by Rosberg, Magnussen and Massa before turn 1, demoting him to 4th. Valtteri Bottas also failed to capitalize on his starting position and dropped down to 11th. Rosberg, on the other hand, had no such problem. He continued to keep his foot down lap after lap, achieving a lead of nearly 1 second per lap and with it, records the fastest lap time.

It was later found out that Hamilton had a software glitch that required him to re-set the race start system settings while driving at around 300kph. Initially it was thought that the problem came about from a defective energy recovery system unit.

By the 8th lap, Hamilton seemed to have sorted out the technical glitch. He was now back in racing form, hounding Massa for 3rd. A lap later, race leader Rosberg lost it under braking and had to use the escape route at Variente del Rettifilo. This mistake allowed Magnussen, Massa and Hamilton to close the gap. Sensing his opportunity, Lewis easily passed Massa on lap 10. The Williams driver didn’t even look at defending, and handed the 3rd place to the Brit.

The two Mercedes drivers kept exchanging fastest lap times. If they kept this up, they would be side by side, fighting for first position, a few laps before the checkered flag falls.

On lap 19, Red Bull was the first to blink, and brought in Sebastian Vettel for his scheduled pit stop. He was followed a few laps later by both Magnussen and Alonso. As they exited the pits, Magnussen found himself behind Vettel. Red Bull had made the right call bringing in Sebastian earlier to undercut his rivals. Rosberg came in on lap 25, handing the lead momentarily to Hamilton who had to pit a lap later. But as he came out, Nico was still in front, albeit, a few seconds closer than before. Lewis received a message from the pit wall to stay back to make sure he had something left for the end of the race. But in typical Lewis fashion, he opted to ignore the “suggestion” and went about catching Nico.

Setting the fastest sector times, Lewis rattled the German into commiting a mistake on lap 29. Just like a few laps earlier, Rosberg lost it under braking at Retiffilo and again used the escape route. This handed the lead to Hamilton to the delight of Toto Wolff, who was caught on camera unable to resist a shy smile.

While all the cameras were focused on the battle in front, Alonso ground to a halt at Retiffilo, handing the Spaniard his first race without any points for this season. It was his first retiremnet since Malaysia 2013.

Meanwhile, Bottas was making headway and slowly climbing up the standings. The FW36 was visibly faster, but, it is something to catch up to your rival, and entirely different to pass. Magnussen didn’t do Bottas any favors, he tried to keep the Finn at bay. Lap 35 saw the McLaren driver push Bottas out of the track in turn 1, causing the Finn to ride the kerbs. This came to the attention of the stewards, who later handed Magnussen a 5 second stop/go penalty for his run-in with Bottas.

The wheel-to-wheel action didn’t stop there. Button and Perez had their share of passing opportunities, neither driver willing to concede the position. As both were busy minding each other, Daniel Ricciardo came up from behind and overtook Button, then set his sights on Perez. It didn’t take long for Ricciardo to easily pass the Mexican at Curva Grande.

With three laps to go, the Mercedes pair seemingly were holding station for another Mercedes 1-2. As the chekered flag fell at Monza, Hamilton took his sixth win of the season. Rosberg diligently came in 2nd while Felipe Massa was 3rd to take his first podium for the Williams team.

Rosberg still leads the championship standings with 238 points, with Lewis 22 points behind. Rough calculations show that, should the Mercedes pair maintain their winning ways, coming in 1-2 in the remaining races, Lewis has to win all six races, especially the double points scoring Abu Dhabi GP to claim the championship. Otherwise, Nico would hold aloft the champion’s trophy by season end.

The 2014 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix is up next, and, by all indications, this will be another race of attrition. Who can claim the top spots at the Marina Bay Circuit? Will it be the Mercedes pair, or will the only night race in the Formula 1 calendar bring about a surprise winner?