Now That’s Formula One: History is Made at Monza

Wow, what a weekend of F1 action. It was the prefect reply from the grid after the last few weeks' controversies. An exciting race and a new winner in Sebastian Vettel are just what the doctor ordered.

It all started in qualifying when for the first time ever I was mesmerized and glued to the action. The constant changes, the battle against qualifying cuts with the drying, then dampening track.

A great hour's entertainment!

In the end it was Vettel who snatched pole position in his Toro Rosso and in doing so became the youngest ever man to take pole position for a Grand Prix.

The German has shown glimpses of brilliance this season amongst all the disappointments, and his drive in the wet of Monza over the last two days has propelled him to superstar status.

I woke up this morning just knowing we were in for a classic GP. Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton were well down the grid in 14th and 15th. I thought of them fighting through the pack with Vettel and Mark Webber looking for their best results while looking over their shoulders in what I hoped would be a wet race.

Well, I got exactly what I wanted!

Over the last few races, I’ve written my articles but have generally been a little disappointed with the actual race. I hadn’t found the right word however but I have now.

That word would have to be “repetitive.”

The same teams, the same drivers, the same dull race before the same controversies, week in, week out.

Today though, the Formula One community can stand up again and say we are the highlight of the motor racing industry. F1 is back at the top of the table after a resounding victory at home.

The conditions that those 20 brave men raced in today could best be described as frightening! The skill and bravery added to the excitement of the race, which saw more overtaking than possibly half the Grands Prix so far put together.

That is what I want as a Formula One fan!

It wasn’t fun and games for everyone, though, as Sebastien Bourdais failed to get off the grid from fourth place. He eventually got going from the pit lane but he was already a lap down. It could have therefore been an even greater day for Toro Rosso, if that’s possible!

What could be better than winning your first Grand Prix with F1’s youngest race winner ever?

Another man on the podium, I suppose, but I doubt Toro Rosso are too bothered about that.

One man definitely not bothered (although he is such a nice guy he probably does feel bad for his team mate) about Bourdais' misfortune is Vettel.

What a performance by Vettel. Martin Brundle summed it up when he described the performance as “faultless.” Not the biggest superlative, I know, but when you take into account the conditions, it’s perfect.

On a day when only Lewis Hamilton was making any inroads, Vettel dominated the race from start to finish and not once looked flustered or overawed by the situation he found himself in.

I think we can safely say, he's a future great!

So what of the usual front runners?

Lewis Hamilton stormed through the pack with a vintage performance. Seventh doesn’t really do his performance justice, but he did occasionally find himself off the pace due to tyres and other factors. One thing for sure is that he outshone championship rivals Kimi and Felipe Massa.

The Brit was pretty pushy throughout, however, and won’t have made many friends today with some strong arm tactic’s that Michael Schumacher or Senna would have been proud of. He’ll definitely never be F1’s Mr. Nice Guy.

That will be Mr. Vettel.

It was a really bad day for Ferrari at their home race in front of the adoring Tifosi. Kimi was shocking (0 points for the Finn), and the fact he found some speed towards the end of the race probably made the whole result harder to swallow for the Italians.

The only bonus for Ferrari was that Massa managed to finish a place above Hamilton and therefore reduce Hamilton’s World Championship lead to just one point.

It’s time now for Kimi to back Massa for the title. With just four races to go, Massa is in a great position where as Kimi needs more than just a few outside factors to go in his favour and he isn’t exactly making his own luck.

Just a couple more points before I go.

Timo Glock was impressive today. He was unlucky, with his pit stop coming too early to put on intermediate tyres. As a result, he slipped away from what at one time was a strong chance of a top 5 finish.

I know I complained about F1 being too repetitive, but Formula One just wouldn’t be Formula One these days without David Coulthard running into someone. Well at least I know he was in the race.

What a treat that was, and with 60 percent chance of rain in Singapore, I can’t wait a whole two weeks.

I say Pick Of The Day and 5 stars for the Italian GP.