Italy: post-race analysis
Both Lotuses finished.
Bit miffed. Both failed in Belgium, Grosjean at Hungary and Germany
(Maldonado didn’t finish at Silverstone but the reliability failing
was so late on he was still classified). First time since Austria in
June neither Lotus had a problem. Oh well. None of the early Williams
bets came off either, and whilst they don’t count in the ‘official’
records it’s still a bit disappointing.
The start was terrible
for Bottas and Ricciardo and pretty bad for Hamilton. The Briton
slumped to 4th, from pole, Bottas went from 3rd
to 12th and Ricciardo lost many places as well. Great
start for Rosberg and Magnussen (1st and 2nd
respectively) with Massa getting up to 3rd.
Magnussen began a long
afternoon of drifting backwards through the field (not always
gracefully, as his late moves defending from Bottas saw him earn a 5
second stop and go penalty). Massa claimed 2nd but was
soon dispossessed by Hamilton. Rosberg failed to stop for the first
corner twice, the second occasion enabling Hamilton the most
contact-free form of taking the lead, after which the order of the
top three was settled.
Bottas climbed
inexorably through the ranks, but a very slightly slow, and perhaps
mistimed, pit stop put him down around 9th, meaning he had
to do it twice. Eventually he finished 4th, but if he
(rather than Massa) had been 2nd early on one wonders if
he would’ve been able to claim victory.
Vettel had a great
start, in stark contrast to Ricciardo. Red Bull split their pitting
strategy (just one stop for everyone) which ended up screwing the
German. He was pitted early, which meant his tyres were shot by the
end. Ricciardo was pitted late (due to being out of position
following his bad start) and he had fresh tyres at the end, enabling
him to pass everyone save the Mercedes and Williams (including
Vettel, who might feel somewhat disgruntled).
Magnussen drove pretty
well, but moved perhaps too swiftly too late too many times defending
against Bottas, earning himself a 5 second stop and go. The time was
added at the end of the race, as he didn’t have another pit stop to
make. He ended up 10th with Button 8th, just
behind Perez.
Perez pitted early, and
drove well on old tyres (with clouds of brake dust, somewhat
alarmingly) to defend against Button. Hulkenberg had a poor showing,
managing only 12th.
Alonso had his first
non-classified finish (reliability failure of ERS which shut off the
engine automatically, as without that there’s a chance of the
engine literally exploding) since 2009. Raikkonen finished a mere
9th.
Kvyat was on for 10th
(bearing in mind Magnussen’s penalty) but very late on his brakes
gave up and he had to drive very slowly to reach the finishing line
without crashing. Bit of a shame for the talented Russian. Vergne’s
13th won’t necessarily help him find a drive next year.
Other than Alonso,
Chilton (for the second time in his career) was the only driver to
have a non-classified finish.
Incidentally, it was
confirmed shortly before the race that Williams will be retaining
both drivers for next year. Not too unexpected, and probably makes
sense.
It was a fairly
entertaining race, no major crashes or controversies, good for
Hamilton, not so bad for Rosberg, solid for Williams but perhaps an
opportunity missed. Ferrari very much on the back foot versus their
rivals.
Drivers’:
Rosberg 238
Hamilton 216
Ricciardo 166
Singapore’s up next
in a fortnight. Expect Red Bull to be far more competitive. However,
unless Rosberg starts having DNFs and Ricciardo starts regularly
beating both Mercedes drivers I do not think he will be able to have
a realistic shot at the title. He’s 72 points off the leader right
now.
Constructors’:
Mercedes 454
Red Bull 272
Williams 177
Ferrari 162
McLaren 110
Force India 109
The top two places are
effectively done and dusted, I think. Williams might’ve been able
to close the gap with better results in the past, but as things stand
I don’t think it’ll happen. The Ferrari duel for Williams will
remain, but the white car is simply faster.
For McLaren, I think
they’ll end up winning the tussle with Force India. The McLaren
seems to have been improved a bit, and Force India have been off the
pace for a while.
There are six races
left, and Rosberg leads Hamilton by 22 points. I still expect this to
go down to Abu Dhabi. I just hope the title doesn’t depend on the
stupid double points on offer there.
Morris Dancer
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