Sorpassa al suo meglio - Overtaking at Its Finest

Personal commentary. (Italian GP 2014 - Race) 

It is race 13 in the 2014 F1 season and the last race in Europe. Today's race showcased a fair share of amazing overtakings by some drivers, most notably Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez. 

The very first lap right after lights out was a spectacle. The drivers were making use of the first few seconds to scramble for the top spot and that was exactly what Nico Rosberg and some other drivers do. Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo were slipping away from their grid positions, Bottas and Ricciardo the most affected. At that moment when Rosberg gained the first position, I had a gut feeling that his position wouldn't last throughout the race. True to my intuitive feeling, he made a mistake on lap 29. That move instantly gave Hamilton the chance to zip past him and made him leader throughout the race. Question on why "I placed my bet" on Hamilton? Well, his lap times over the two days do show us that he is a master of this fast, flowing circuit. It was, therefore, easy to predict Hamilton winning the race no matter which position he may start from. It is amusing to watch the race and read tweets at the same time. I recall my Twitter feed was filled with references to "Hammertime" once Rosberg went wide into the first chicane. It seemed like every Hamilton supporter just knew the exact time to tweet the same word. 

To be honest, my eyes were not on the Mercedes drivers throughout the race. They were getting boring, race by race. It was either, "Oh, Rosberg/Hamilton at the front! One of them will be the sure winner." or "Isn't it obvious? Rosberg/Hamilton won pole yesterday, that means they will win the race...". It is rather strange to see so many people loving this season, just because Sebastian Vettel is no longer dominating races... This season has been boring to me (the race actions/dramas is an exception) in terms of the drivers' championship. Period. 

What stood out during Sebastian Vettel's four successive years was the fact that there were at least two (mostly three) drivers fighting for the championship. By two drivers, I mean two drivers from different teams having different cars running on different engines. THAT, is what I call true competition. Not now when you have the top spots taken up by cars using the very same engine provider. 

Bottas, just like all Finns before him, is born with speed and perhaps another special "strictly only Finn racers" power. Right from the start of this season, he has been finishing races in the points. It was a massive improvement from 2013. Each race he has shown us so far never cease to leave us open-mouthed. He is swift, he is alert, his overtaking skills are up to the mark. He kind of reminds me of Hamilton, in which he has the ability to overcome any pressure thrown in his way and still be able to become stronger than before. Bottas is never reckless with his overtakes. He just does it smoothly to get his way to the best position he can manage. That happened once again today. 

The number of wheel to wheel overtakes was overwhelming. My eyes felt like they could roll out of their sockets if the race would have continued for another hour. There were RIC-RAI, HAM-MAS and BUT-PER. BUT-PER was the one that lasted the longest and was truly intense. It was a fight between the former teammates. The winner turned out to be Sergio Perez! Talking about proving to McLaren that they were wrong in kicking him out of McLaren so early...  

I knew Daniil Kvyat would be able to bounce back from his penalty but I did not expect him to move up the grid so quickly. He even managed to get a grip before he crashed into the barriers at the first chicane. His save was brilliant. I would say that he is the only rookie with so much bad luck this year. If it would not have been issues with his car, he would have been on par with Kevin Magnussen.

Red Bull surprised me today. I honestly had minimal expectations on them. Both of them went beyond mine (apparently) and I am pleased to see how far they have come. Daniel Ricciardo has once again proved that starting behind his teammate in the beginning of the race isn't a major problem. Nonetheless, it wasn't the best finish Ricciardo could produce. Monza may not be their strength but the upcoming races will put them at an advantage.

As for Ferrari, the team is not having their best weekend in their home race, ironically... I could not believe my ears when I heard the commentator announcing Fernando Alonso's car had stopped in Turn 1. According to a close friend of mine, that is coincidentally the same spot he had retire from the race in 2006. My heart truly ached for Alonso, especially seeing how he had such a good week. He totally did not deserve that retirement in his team's home race. Call me weird but whenever it is a team's or driver's home race, my team loyalty just comes to a halt. I would always hope for the best for that driver or team. After all, it is an honour to represent your country and giving it all back by winning. I understand that. When I realised Alonso had to retire and Raikkonen was not able to do any better for the rest of the race, I just felt sorry for them as they were not able to give what the Tifosis want: a Ferrari podium on home soil. 

Don't be sorry, Alonso. We know you have always given in your best despite how unreliable the Ferrari cars are this year! No te rindas y nunca perder la esperanza (Don't give up and never lose hope)! 

Once again, I can imagine a scene in which Luca di Montezemolo would be banging his head against a wall in frustration 'cause... Yeah, it is because FELIPE MASSA MADE IT ON PODIUM! This marks the first podium of his in Williams. Congratulations, Massa, not just on the podium but also on getting another year racing with Williams! 

Today turns out to be the day that Caterham finally beat Marussia, all thanks to Kamui Kobayashi (stay tune for an article on him during the Japanese GP week). 

This pretty much sums up everything I have to say on the race. Two weeks to the Singapore GP, my beloved home race! Have a good week ahead and stay safe! At least we have the MotoGP at San Marino next weekend! ;) OH! Did I mention the very first Formula E will be on too? :D 

Italian Grand Prix Race: 

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 53 1:19:10.236 1 25
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 53 +3.1 secs 2 18
3 Felipe Massa Williams 53 +25.0 secs 4 15
4 Valtteri Bottas Williams 53 +40.7 secs 3 12
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 53 +50.3 secs 9 10
6 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 53 +59.9 secs 8 8
7 Sergio Perez Force India 53 +62.5 secs 10 6
8 Jenson Button McLaren 53 +63.0 secs 6 4
9 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 53 +63.5 secs 11 2
10 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 53 +66.1 secs 5 1
11 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 53 +71.1 secs 21
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 53 +72.6 secs 13
13 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 53 +73.0 secs 12
14 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 52 +1 Lap 16
15 Adrian Sutil Sauber 52 +1 Lap 14
16 Romain Grosjean Lotus 52 +1 Lap 17
17 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 52 +1 Lap 18
18 Jules Bianchi Marussia 52 +1 Lap 19
19 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 51 +2 Laps 22
20 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 51 +2 Laps 15
Ret Fernando Alonso Ferrari 28 +25 Laps 7
Ret Max Chilton Marussia 5 Accident 20