Italian GP 2014: Grading Race on Strategy, Overtaking, Shocks and Drama
Sunday afternoon saw Mercedesโ Lewis Hamilton win a highly entertaining Italian Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg in second place, with the Williams of Felipe Massa coming home third.
And here we grade the thrilling contest at the Autodromo Di Monza from A to D in terms of strategy, overtaking, shocks and dramaโฆ
Strategy: C
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This 13th race of the 2014 Formula One season at Monzaโthe last to be staged in Europe before the teams jet off around the globe for the final seven grands prix of the yearโwas always going to be based around a one-stop strategy, as it also was in Italy last time out.
And even though world champion Sebastian Vettel caught team-mate Daniel Ricciardo on the hop by pitting early on Lap 19, the various teamsโ pre-race strategies all played out as expected with most drivers coming in between Laps 20 and 26.
Overtaking: B
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While there were relatively less passing moves that we have seen in previous races, there were still enough audacious manoeuvres to keep the full house enthralled at the Autodromo Di Monza.
Initially most eyes were focussed on Hamilton as he tried to recover from a poor start that left the pole-sitter down in fourth, with the Briton firstly taking advantage of a scrap between Massa and third-placed Kevin Magnussen to get past the latter at the second chicane on Lap 5.
Then, five laps later, the Mercedes driver made his move on the outside of Massa to claim second spot behind Rosberg, although the most eye-catching overtaking actually took place in the middle of the race between the Red Bulls, McLarens, Valtteri Bottas in the Williams and the Force India of Sergio Perez.
And the highlight of those battles was Ricciardoโs sensational manoeuvre to slip past his team-mate at the second chicane with only six laps remaining.
Drama: B
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Right from the very off there was drama aplenty with Hamilton, on P1, getting away slowly from the start-finish line due to a temporary fault in his DRS system that needed to be reset remotely by his engineering team as the Mercedes driver slipped to fourth by the end of the first lap.
However, the Briton won the grand prix following an all-too-rare unforced error by team-mate Rosberg, who for the second time in the afternoon broke too late at the first chicane to allow his rival past on Lap 29.
Elsewhere, Magnussen found himself demoted 10 places at the climax to the grand prix due to a five-second stop-go penalty for causing Bottas off the circuit at the first chicane.
And Fernando Alonso suffered his first retirement due to a mechanical failure for five years after a fault in the Spaniardโs hybrid system to cap off a miserable afternoon for Ferrari in front of their home fans following a disappointing ninth-place finish for Kimi Raikkonen.
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Shocks: D
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Considering that seven of the previous 11 Italian GPs had been won by the pole-sitter, then in the end it was not really that surprising to see Hamilton claim his second-ever career victory here at the Autodromo di Monza.
Meanwhile, Australiaโs Ricciardoโwho had won the previous two races in the Red Bullโdrove brilliantly to finish in fifth position, having started down in ninth place on the grid.
Overall: B
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Hamilton must be given great credit for keeping his cool after suffering yet another dose of bad luck on the start line to claw his way to a sixth win of the season and, in the process, reduce the gap at the top of the driversโ standings on team-mate Rosberg to 22 points.
Given the drama right at the very off which forced the Briton to again undertake a recovery mission through the field, Rosbergโs dramatic journey on to the escape road and the absorbing mid-race multi-car battle for fifth, in its own way this was as entertaining as any of the previous grandsย prixย this year.
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