[deetjohn]

A glorious lap from Kimi where he rolled back the years. Amazing! I got a bit emotional after that purple on S3.

Yes, a P1 will be very difficult for Kimster today with the current team dynamics. And even a 1, 2 given that.

Lewis isn't far behind on position and overall pace. And he will be there to pounce if anyone is compromised ever slightly over the race distance.

So, I am expecting a 1, 3 for Ferrari at best with Vettel on top if everything go as planned. Because Kimi will surely be short changed if Vettel cannot do it on the track.

And I really really hope I am wrong! But fat chance given how Ferrari rolls the dice.

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

I don't see Kimi coming back for another season, atleast with Ferrari. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it, and this is just in my head.

As with no team orders and the race, don't be naive. Kimi has no chance at the championship. Ferrari will try everything short of stopping Kimi to make sure Seb wins the race.

I would love to say you are reading too much into it, but this is Ferrari we are talking about!

Seb was clearly unhappy yesterday. He had a gap of roughly two tenths to Kimi in FPs so he probably didn't expect Kimi to put in a mighty lap to usurp him for P1.

For the race's sake I am hoping Lewis can jump Seb at the start.

[pganapathy]

I really hope Kimi is able to win the race, but I am realistic enough to know that Ferrari instructions will be try to let Seb through and you hold up Lewis as much as possible. that is my concern. Ferrari should ideally aim for 1-2 in the race to ensure maximum constructors points but I doubt they will take either 1-2. Seb first is preferable for them even if Kimi doesn't come in second. Penny wise and pound foolish if you ask me

[Hatari]

Well done Kimi! kept it neat and quick.
So disheartening to hear Vettel come on the radio straight away and say we will talk later.

The other shocker was too see Alonso top the top speed charts after being last.

Also, on the incident with Mag, Alonso was ahead of both cars on the warm up lap, when Mag decides to overtake right before parabolica (the final turn), compromising both drivers hot laps. Down right silly thing to do, and obviously Alonso was not going to take it quietly. I doubt its a lesson learnt though.

Originally Posted by ach1lles

There is something weird going on in F1. I noticed it for the first time today, and it is very strange to see a few things:

1. There was no happiness shown in the Ferrari camp of having locked out the front row. It seemed as if they were unhappy that Kimi came out P1, ahead of Seb. Did you hear Kimi's radio? "Kimi we have pole", as if "Kimi, we have liver for lunch". Jesus. Give it some emotion, man. Seems as if the team would rather have Kimi 3rd than 1st.
2. Kimi's wife wept.
3. Every question asked to Kimi was about his future, his age, retirement, and with Seb and Hamilton it was about the race, the conditions, and being at Monza.
4. It was as if Kimi wanted to give the ultimate "screw you" to Ferrari, having secured pole in their home GP, ahead of Seb, for maybe being sort of neglected?

I don't see Kimi coming back for another season, atleast with Ferrari. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it, and this is just in my head.

As with no team orders and the race, don't be naive. Kimi has no chance at the championship. Ferrari will try everything short of stopping Kimi to make sure Seb wins the race.

Apparently Ferrari have already signed Leclerc for 2019 before the new boss stepped in. and know they dont want the trouble to break contract and resign Kimi.
Which essentially leaves Kimi free to race! Hope he had a good race and signs off reminding everyone how quick he can be.

[fz_rider]

What a dampener! Another win for Hamilton. It looks bleak for Vettel now. 32 points deficit, Hamilton has this one too in the bag.

[sukiwa]

Good strategy by Mercedes to keep Bottas long enough to delay Kimi, makes it easier for Hamilton. Would have loved Kimi to win this race, but long wait for Ferrari for win in Monza.
5 second penalty for Verstappen is bit unfair, he doesn't give it a damn though.

[ach1lles]

The first full race I've watched in very, very long. Oh, Ferrari /shakes head.
Sebastian just can't handle pressure. We saw him crumble last year when things got tense, and it happened here again. Hamilton ran a great race, and so did Mercedes.

[deetjohn]

A real heartbreak! If only the Ferrari strategy team was as good as the engineering team who builds the car. Especially Kimi' side of the garage. They didn't plan Kimi's pit stop well at all. Peaked too early and fell out in the end. Should have reacted to whatever Mercedes was doing instead of calling the cards early.

That said, Mercedes made it really difficult for Ferrari. Somewhat unsporting if one may! But that's why they are the world champions. Ruthless when they need to be. All their calls were absolutely perfect once Vettel made a hash of that first lap. It was really a racing incident and Vettel is making too many mistakes nowadays. Throwing away invaluable points and surely the title.

Max deserved the penalty. He just waved a bit too much for that one without giving space!

Anyways, a very hard race for the Tifosi to take.

[ashwin.terminat]

Poor pit strategy for Kimi? Or car just harder on tyres? Because at the end of the race, he mentioned that the car had the speed but the tyres were getting worn too quickly.

Kimi pitted 8 laps earlier and lost the lead 8 laps from the end of the race. Perhaps Kimi was actually losing time and the SF71H was harder on the tyres at Monza compared to Mercedes? As for his future, I am taking heart from his statement at the podium interviews, saying sorry for today, but "next time". Sounds like he is optimistic of a return to Monza wearing scarlet overalls.

Vettel, I remember someone mentioning this a few races earlier - Vettel doesn't do well under pressure. And I think we saw another example of that today. So many times now that he has tried to defend a position too aggressively and lost out on a chunk of points. Singapore last year, Baku this year, Monza now.

That said, if the Ferrari was just generally harder on the tyres here compared to Mercedes, I doubt Vettel could have fought for the lead anyway. A 2nd place looks like the best he could have gotten considering Kimi's race strategy. Verstappen's 5-second penalty was a gift for Vettel and helped him back 2 extra points. But a 30 point lead now and 7 races to go. Tough.

[ach1lles]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

A real heartbreak! If only the Ferrari strategy team was as good as the engineering team who builds the car. Especially Kimi' side of the garage. They didn't plan Kimi's pit stop well at all. Peaked too early and fell out in the end

I though it was rather well planned and executed. I believe the soft tyre blistering and degradation caught them by surprise. Also Mercedes had 2 cars to work with, and Ferrari only had Kimi up front.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Should have reacted to whatever Mercedes was doing instead of calling the cards early

Nah. They were leading, and it was their call to make. They got him back out in front of Hamilton too. If anything, he should've made the moves on Bottas earlier to try and create a gap to Lewis. I mean, Bottas kept him behind on 25+ lap old supersofts.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

That said, Mercedes made it really difficult for Ferrari. Somewhat unsporting if one may!

What?
That's the pinnacle of sportsmanship. To compete at your highest, your best, and make the other guy out-compete you.

[SilentEngine]

It would have been nice to have a win at Monza as his 100th podium for Kimi. Mercedes and Hamilton had to work really hard for this win.

In the podium while being interviewed by Massa, Kimi said something like “will try next time” for question about winning at Monza. Is that a subtle hint?

[aim120]

Nice race, really unsporting Italian fans booing both Mercedes drivers. I didn't see German or UK fans doing it when Ferrari won.

But Mercedes did rub it all over their face, the Mercedes team radio communication for a side by side victory lap was funny but it was a awesome aerial shot of the silver arrow cars.

Really surprised Bottas could not overtake the Redbull despite the power and DRS advantage. Although the charts say the Mercedes powered cars where faster in straight line, with Force india having the highest top speed, the ferrari looked faster in a straight line then everyone else.
360+ km/hr is one of the highest I have seen in F1 since I started watching F1 which was from 2001.


Max Verstappen attending Pastor Maldonado F1 school is paying off .

[mayankk]

What a race by the champion. It was almost Rossi level of patience, sitting behind the Ferrari! Or maybe it was because he was confident of getting past what essentially is the step-son of the Ferrari team.

Be that as it may, it was a supreme effort from Kimi. But winning was not really on the cards once Lewis was within sight.

[nkrishnap]

The start was interesting with the overtakes in the first few corners. Vettel did a mistake again and will cost him in 2018. With the power advantage Ferrari showed in the practice and qualifying, I was presuming Kimi and Vettel would pull away. Hamilton was aggressive and got the move done. Vettel could have been a little more patient and worked back like Kimi did.

Nevertheless the deficit is difficult to claw back unless Hamilton has a DNF or a really bad finish lower down the order..

[jpcoolguy]

It's almost like Hungary, only that Kimi is in the place of Vettel losing valuable time and in the process the tyres behind the "wingman". What a strategy by Mercedes, if only Ferrari could have good strategy team backing the good car.

Also, it's becoming a practice of Ferrari to bring in Kimi earlier always and that too many laps before Vettel come-in; not sure the strategy behind this thought process which is almost always leading Kimi to look after his tyres in the final laps and losing position to rivals.

I don't think Ferrari has gained massive power in the upgrades, it's just that in Spa they ran a low downforce rear wing which made the car to put down the power in those straights.

With these kind of mistakes, I don't think Vettel will be able to win the WDC this year, Hamilton is running with it. This looks all too familiar as last year.