Road to the young

Sebastian Vettel becomes the youngest Grand Prix winner

The track in Monza is one of the oldest in the Formula 1 championship. Therefore, it was especially pleasant to see the youth team standing on the podium after the finish of the race - on average, the three best pilots of the Italian race were just over 23 years old. And if we remember that the season leader Lewis Hamilton is the same 23, we can safely talk about the arrival of a new generation of racers in the Big Prizes. Of course, it is premature to put an end to the generation that recently came to the forefront of Royal racing from the shadow of Michael Schumacher. And although yesterday they themselves were promising, today it is increasingly difficult for them to hold back the advance of youth.

Spectators who missed the qualifying races probably rubbed their eyes in surprise for a long time, trying to understand the position of the racers on the starting line. In pole position was a car that is more common to see, at best, in the middle of the peloton. Sebastian Vettel's Toro Rosso proudly flaunted ahead of Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren, and the second row of the starting field was occupied by two more cars from Dietrich Mateschitz's "farm" - Mark Webber's Red Bull and another Italian bull, Sebastien Bourdais, for whom this result became the highest starting place in his career. The culprit was the rain that dropped into Monza these days. While the leaders could not adapt to the wet asphalt of the Autodromo Nazionale, the youngest of the active pilots confidently coped with the task. And the fact that Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen could not make it to the third and final stage of qualifying only emphasizes its complexity.

However, no one could believe that the race would also be a benefit for the German who had just updated the age record for qualifying winners. But the rain that brought luck to Vettel on Saturday continued to fall on Sunday. Moreover, with such intensity that the organizers had to announce the start of the race on the move, that is, behind the safety car. This was the right decision, as the Monza circuit rarely goes without incidents at the start. Yesterday the racers surprised not only with a clean start, but also with an accident-free ride throughout the entire distance. Only Giancarlo Fisichella, with his departure at the beginning of the race, spoiled the statistical indicators that any traffic police chief could be proud of. You can also remember the small collision between Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams and David Coulthard’s Red Bull, but both cars, although they lost some aerodynamic elements, reached the finish line.

Sebastian Vettel led confidently from the first lap, taking advantage of a clean track. Leaving behind him a trail of rain splashes and the envy of his rivals, the German pilot pulled away further and further and by the first pit stop had created a reliable foundation in order to feel calm even after refueling. Seb sometimes, obeying orders from the pits, even slowed down, creating the illusion among his pursuers that they could catch up with him. But when someone started to get too close, Vettel quite easily restored the status quo.

The only one who really still caused concern for the unexpected leader was Lewis Hamilton, who showed outstanding piloting in such difficult weather conditions. It seems that the Briton performs better the worse the situation on the track. In any case, compared to the rest of the racers, who showed excessive caution, Lewis looked much more interesting. Only with overtaking Kimi Raikkonen at the beginning of the race did he experience some difficulties, but then he passed car after car, as if not noticing them in a shroud of rain. In addition, by the middle of the race it became clear that McLaren was leading Hamilton for one pit stop. And this tactic should have worked if not for the team's mistake.

From time to time, weather forecasters issued frightening messages that any minute the rain, which had subsided shortly after the start, would break out with renewed vigor. Therefore, after the pit stop, all the cars returned to the track still on rain tires. Including Lewis Hamilton's car. But time passed, and they began to laugh at the inept predictions. The sun even appeared in the sky through the clouds, and a dry rut was clearly visible on the asphalt. And at the second pit stop, the pilots already chose an “intermediate” type of tire. And Hamilton, who by this time had climbed into second place, had to turn into the pit lane again. After this, Lewis seemed to lose interest in what was happening on the track. Returning from his pit stop, he found himself behind Felipe Massa, but made no visible attempt to overtake his most dangerous rival in the fight for the championship title. This is how the two leaders of the individual championship reached the finish line one after another: Massa was sixth, and Hamilton was seventh.

The Italian anthem in honor of the first victory of the Toro Rosso pilot sounded especially solemn and a little sad. After all, this little Scuderia has always been loved by the Italian public, back in the days when it was called “Minardi”.

Results. Formula 1 World Auto Racing Championship. Italian Grand Prix. Autodromo Monza. 1. Vettel (Toro Rosso) - 1 hour 26 minutes. 47 sec. 2. Kovalainen (McLaren) - lag 12.5 seconds. 3. Kubica (BMW-Sauber) - 20.4. 4. Alonso (Renault) - 23.9. 5. Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) - 27.7. 6. Weight (Ferrari) - 28.8. 7. Hamilton (McLaren) - 29.9. 8. Webber (Red Bull) - 32.0. Pilots' Championship. Hamilton - 78 points, Massa - 77, Kubica - 64, Raikkonen (Ferrari) - 57, Heidfeld - 53, Kovalainen - 51. Constructors' Championship. Ferrari - 134, McLaren - 129, BMW-Sauber - 117, Toyota, Renault - 41.

Dmitry SITNIK