Lady (bad) Luck Smiling on Ferrari

Personal commentary. (Italian GP 2014 - FP1, FP2, FP3, Qualifying) 

Summer is still here to stay at Monza this weekend. The sun was shining mercilessly yesterday but that did not faze the crowd in the least.  Throngs of them turned up, most of them wearing or having something the colour of Ferrari. It was absolutely amazing to see how much ardour the Italians have towards this event. The Italian Grand Prix is no doubt one of my favourite tracks. It may not be in my top three but it always has a place in my heart partly due to the overwhelming crowd.

The fastest driver in free practices this week was no different since the beginning of the season. It was either Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg. The order for this week would be FP1: Hamilton, FP2: Rosberg, FP3: Hamilton.


Qualifying, however, was a joyous celebration for most people (not just the Hamilton fans). Yep, apparently there is still a huge percentage of human beings who cannot seem to get over Spa... Come on guys, the drivers have even moved on. Shouldn't you be too? Karma or not, he deserved it or not, a person's mistake should be erased once he/she admits his/her mistake. Rosberg deserves every right to be respected as a driver again after whatever he has gone through. It isn't simple to go head to head fighting for the championship with a teammate who has won a championship before.

Hamilton, well done on clinching pole position once again after seven races! He was unbeatable in all sessions in qualifying today, unfailingly topping everyone else. Well, we all know qualifying wasn't the only one that he outshone this week. He was right behind his teammate in FP2. It wasn't his fastest for the week but (mind you) he did have an electronic fault that affected his entire practice session! I have to agree with Fernando Alonso on this one, Hamilton is no doubt one of the strongest drivers on the grid!

Just when I thought Ferrari is starting to gain pace with their F14T, that belief did not last long till qualifying. Argh! Imagine how shattered the Tifosis might have felt. Getting their hopes up only to have them plunged into the depths of... An ocean? haha. Jokes aside. Alonso, the best achiever of the Ferrari, is starting from seventh, right behind six Mercedes powered cars! What a disgrace, really. An Italian team having been overtaken by six German engineered cars... Amongst them is none other than his former teammate, Felipe Massa. OUCH! I guess this pretty much sums out how Luca di Montezemolo is feeling right now.

Both McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen are clearly pushing their hardest this week especially with so many rumours circulating around of one getting replaced next season. Alonso is a catch and he comes with a very dear price tag on him. Honestly though, I would want both of them to stay put for another season (at least) partly because 1. both of them work so well together and 2. Button serves as a good mentor to the rising star, Magnussen. Besides, it is good to have these two together next season when they will have to race with a new engine provider: Honda. Same reason again, reason number two. Button has knowledge on Honda powered cars for a fair bit of years and therefore he is able to pass on that knowledge to Magnussen. See the connection?

Aussie favourite, Daniel Ricciardo, did not outperform his teammate this week. Sebastian Vettel was no better. In fact, the Bulls were not even close to the top five spots this entire week.

It has been a predictable and yet an unforeseeable weekend so far. Hamilton may start first on the grid tomorrow but Monza is a track that offers good overtaking opportunities. Long fast straights that has drivers propelling their cars to the maximum speed.

With the Mercedes duel still fresh in everyone's mind, prepare those popcorns and get ready to watch an epic race. The battle doesn't stop at Spa.

Italian GP Qualifying: 

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:25.363 1:24.560 1:24.109 20
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:25.493 1:24.600 1:24.383 19
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:26.012 1:24.858 1:24.697 16
4 Felipe Massa Williams 1:25.528 1:25.046 1:24.865 17
5 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:26.337 1:25.973 1:25.314 18
6 Jenson Button McLaren 1:26.328 1:25.630 1:25.379 18
7 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:26.514 1:25.525 1:25.430 17
8 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:26.631 1:25.769 1:25.436 18
9 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:26.721 1:25.946 1:25.709 17
10 Sergio Perez Force India 1:26.569 1:25.863 1:25.944 23
11 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:26.261 1:26.070 16
12 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:26.689 1:26.110 13
13 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:26.140 1:26.157 15
14 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:26.371 1:26.279 18
15 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:27.034 1:26.588 17
16 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:26.999 1:26.692 17
17 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:27.520 8
18 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:27.632 5
19 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:27.671 9
20 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:27.738 8
21 Max Chilton Marussia 1:28.247 8
22 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:28.562 9

* Daniil Kvyat will face an engine penalty, which will drop him down to 21. *