2018 Italian Grand Prix report, Hamilton roars, dailycarblog.com
Lewis Hamilton On Fire As He Defeats Ferrari On Home Territory
Formula One

Ferrari has edged Mercedes and now have the fastest car on the grid. The performance deficit is around 1-2 tenths. That’s with Hamilton behind the wheel. With Valtteri Bottas its over half-a-second. That is why Ferrari looked odds-on to steamroller the opposition at the 2018 Italian Grand Prix having locked out the grid during Saturday’s qualifying session.

However, the starting order for Sunday’s 2018 Italian Grand Prix was wrong. Raikkonen on pole, Vettel starting second, it was against Vettel’s expectations. It would have a big impact on the race as much as Vettel’s critical decision making. 2018 Italian Grand Prix report, Raikkonen leads, dailycarblog.com Race day at the 2018 Italian Grand Prix was set for Ferrari domination. Having negotiated the turn 1 chicane, Hamilton got a run on second-placed Vettel. Vettel got a tow from Raikkonen ahead. As the top three approached turn  2 Raikkonen was not under threat. Vettel had Hamilton to deal with. 2018 Italian Grand Prix report, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Vettel, dailycarblog.com Vettel decided on caution, opted not to take on Raikkonen, Hamilton was by now to his side and decided to go for position. Hamilton had the outside line going into the tight turn 2 left-right chicane. In racing, cars negotiate a chicane in single file. It is only possible to overtake into a chicane if the car is at least half a length ahead. Vettel was not, and he should have a yielded position to avoid a collision. Because Vettel’s approach angle was narrow his only option was to concede position to avoid contact. Hamilton now had the inside line, the racing line, and gave Vettel enough room. As Vettel flustered his way side-by-side with Hamilton there was contact. Vettel was pitched into a spin, Hamilton was now second. 2018 Italian Grand Prix report, Vettel spins on lap 1, dailycarblog.com Vettel dropped to last place while Hamilton took the fight to Ferrari. Raikkonen had a clear advantage in the first half of the race. And when the Ferrari driver made his first stop he hammered out the advantage further still when he rejoined on new tyres. Hamilton stayed out for several laps longer, his tyres were holding up, but it seemed like the wrong decision. By the time Hamilton made his pitstop and rejoined, Raikkonen had built up a lead of over 5 seconds. 2018 Italian Grand Prix report, Hamilton vs Raikkonen, dailycarblog.com The race seemed lost, but Hamilton closed the gap with a little help from his teammate who had yet to pit. Bottas held up the Ferrari for a few laps until Hamilton brought the gap down to a second. Bottas pitted a few laps later, but it seemed as though Raikkonen had the superior speed. However, Hamilton’s tyres were fresher and Raikkonen’s were fading. And on lap 45 Hamilton fought past Raikkonen into and out of turn 1. Raikkonen fought hard but fair, but he could do little to stop the inevitable. 2018 Italian Grand Prix report, Hamilton celebrates, dailycarblog.com Hamilton surged into the lead and built a comfortable margin over Raikkonen. The Ferrari driver had to drop back to conserve his tyres or risk not finishing at all. It was a very good day for Mercedes as Bottas finished third. It was a day of disappointment for Ferrari, by pitting Raikkonen early,  on lap 20, and then asking him to push to extend his lead over Hamilton may have cost them a comfortable victory. For Vettel it was a day to rue, he recovered to 4th, but his decision not to yield position on the opening lap may well have cost him the 2018 championship. Results: 2018 Italian Grand Prix, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza
Pos No Driver Laps Time/Retired Pts
1 44 Hamilton 53 1:16:54.484 25
2 7 Räikkönen 53 +8.705s 18
3 77 Bottas 53 +14.066s 15
4 5 Vettel 53 +16.151s 12
5 33 Verstappen 53 +18.208s 10
NC 8 Grosjean 53 +56.320s 0
6 31 Ocon 53 +57.761s 8
7 11 Perez 53 +58.678s 6
8 55 Sainz 53 +78.140s 4
9 18 Stroll 52 +1 lap 2
10 35 Sirotkin 52 +1 lap 1
11 16 Leclerc 52 +1 lap 0
12 2 Vandoorne 52 +1 lap 0
13 27 Hulkenberg 52 +1 lap 0
14 10 Gasly 52 +1 lap 0
15 9 Ericsson 52 +1 lap 0
16 20 Magnussen 52 +1 lap 0
NC 3 Ricciardo 23 DNF 0
NC 14 Alonso 9 DNF 0
NC 28 Hartley 0 DNF 0

Note – Verstappen received a 5-second time penalty for causing a collision with Bottas. Grosjean disqualified for a technical rule infringement with the floor on his car.

 2018 Italian Grand Prix report, Hamilton roars, dailycarblog.com
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