F1 Monza Race

Well here we go for what is to be, I am sure, a thrilling race. It does appear Lewis mad an error with removing the F Duct of his car and we will have to await the outcome during the race. It will be interesting watching the two Mclaren's as they both have different set ups as Lewis has the high speed set up with low down force and yet Jenson has his set up with a high down force.

As Fernando's car is pushed into his pole position there is an army of team personnel on the grid preparing all twenty cars on the grid. The grid is a very special place and only the privileged get to walk its length amongst the cars.

Turn one will be very interesting as twenty low flying projectiles arrive at the very difficult turn right, left turn as also will turn four. The army of personnel leave the grid as the cars move away back onto pit lane to await events during the race.

As the Red lights went out Jenson got a fantastic start and passed Fernando into turn one followed by Felipe. The two Ferrari's then got tight together and in the following melee Lewis then tangled with Fernando which broke his right front and he was out.

So Jenson went into the lead but his high down force set up could affect him down the long straights, we will have to see how it plays out. Nico shot through to fourth but both red Bull's dropped places as Michael made up four places. As Mark passed Michael he was now behind Sebastian and are we to see fire works from the two of them.

The battle at front on lap twenty was intense after Jenson & Fernando traded fastest laps with Felipe still in touch matching the front two. The high down force set up on Jenson's car doesn't seem to have had an effect compared with the Ferrari. Nico still held fourth followed by Robert, Nico (H) and then the two Red Bull's in close company.

Sutil was the first stop for tyres early on as he swapped from soft to hard tyres but then had to pass a lot of cars to regain his position but that should help him later in the race. Then came a radio message from Sebastian that he had an engine problem as Mark went straight through.

Then Sebastian seemed to pick up the pace again so they will have to wait the outcome as the pit wall couldn't find anything. With the pace at the front fuel mileage could be a problem but I am sure the teams were aware of that prior to the race start.

When Jenson and Fernando came up behind back markers on lap twenty five it was all Jenson needed as the gap between the front two narrowed to just over half a second. Still no pit stops for the front runners which means they are still running the tyres they ran on the pole lap yesterday.

Nico was now some fifteen seconds behind Felipe in fourth showing the superiority of the front three runners. In the meanwhile Mark is still being held at bay by Nico (H) which is a credit to the Williams performance.

The Renault mechanics in the pit have asked Sebastian to change some settings on his steering wheel and they confirmed it was some form of engine glitch which seemed to stabilise during the ensuing laps after the changes.

With twenty laps to go more cars are coming on for tyre stops and the first of the high runners, Robert came in. Then came the message across Jenson's radio to push, push, push as he was coming towards his pit stops. Then Nico came in followed by Mark with Mark not making any ground on Nico.

Then in came Jenson with a 4.2 second actual stop followed on the next lap by Fernando but he came out in front of Jenson and the Tiffosi went wild. Then in came Felipe but he came back into third so no change there. Jenson now has all to play for but as the pit wall instructed him to go into fuel saving mode his back to the wall.

Now Jenson has more to worry about as Felipe comes into play in second and starts to close in on him. Fernando seems to have it to lose as he pulls three seconds ahead of Jenson so it seems all over unless Fernando makes a mistake under the pressure of the race as it has played out.

Sebastian is running in fourth but has yet still to stop for tyres and it will be interesting to see where he finishes up after his tyre change but with only five laps to go. In the meanwhile Mark is now running very close behind Nico (H) and getting very spirited but he then went through after a few scrappy laps from Nico (H).

Sebastian then came in for tyres prior on the penultimate lap and went straight into fourth but that is a blow for Mark. So at the flag after a brilliant drive from both Fernando and Jenson, the Ferrari took the win followed by Jenson and Felipe.

Sebastian then took fourth ahead of Nico, Mark, Nico (H), Robert, Michael with Rubens in tenth. So Mark retakes the lead in the championship followed by Jenson, Fernando and Jenson in fourth.

So after a thrilling race the Tiffosi will go home happy and there will be a lot of Vino drunk in the pubs and clubs in Italy tonight. Fernando will be an Italian hero after winning his first race for Ferrari on home soil and it will not do any harm for Felipe either.

So bring on Singapore and let us hope it is as thrillingas Monza. Great drives down the field as we leave Europe for the last five races of the season.