• Italian Grand Prix

Post-race driver rundown

Laurence Edmondson and Claire Lorenc
September 12, 2010

Fernando Alonso - 1st
After a nightmare race in Belgium he desperately needed a good result today, amid talk that Ferrari would focus on 2011 if he dropped further off the championship leaders. In the end he got exactly what he needed with a hard-fought victory in front of Ferrari's home crowd to get within 21 points of title leader Webber. The key point in the race was his lap ahead of his pit stop, which allowed him to leapfrog Button.

Jenson Button - 2nd
He did a remarkable job in the first stint to hold off Alonso but didn't have the pace to hold position during the stops. Damage to the car in the first corner didn't help matters, but after the race McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said it had little bearing on the pace of the car.

Felipe Massa - 3rd
He took a couple of knocks in the first few corners but went on to score a fairly straight-forward podium. He didn't have the pace to leapfrog Button in the stops and never looked like challenging the McLaren afterwards. A couple of extra tenths per lap would have been enough for second, but Massa has been lacking that all season compared to Alonso.

Sebastian Vettel - 4th
The best possible result given the circumstances and one achieved with a leftfield strategy. At one stage it looked as though his race was going to end in a cloud of smoke when his Renault engine started playing up, but he quickly recovered and within five laps was back on the pace. He then did well to make the soft tyres last 52 laps and the clean air that he ran in for the second half of the race allowed him to leapfrog four cars in the pits.

Nico Rosberg - 5th
Another great result given the car he was driving. He got a good start and then didn't put a wheel off line for the rest of the race, narrowly missing out on fourth place to Vettel who was driving a much faster car. What's more he significantly outperformed Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher all weekend.

Mark Webber - 6th
It was a frustrating race which can be mainly blamed on a second bad start in as many races. He was then out of position and later in the race got stuck behind Hulkenberg. On the plus side, he now leads the title race by 5 points.

Nico Hulkenberg - 7th
A great result for the young rookie but one slightly tainted by his persistent skipping of chicanes. He put the mistakes down to a problem with the brake pedal and some over exuberant driving. A good points haul nonetheless, and his second top-seven result in three races.

Robert Kubica - 8th
After his podium finish in Belgium, Monza would have been a very frustrating weekend for the Pole. The Renault engine is down on power compared to its competitors and that was reflected both in his result and Red Bull's. Singapore should be a very different story.

Michael Schumacher - 9th
Given his tardy pace qualifying, a points finish was actually a good result for Schumacher. However, he was still four places behind team-mate Rosberg.

Rubens Barrichello - 10th
His car was slightly damaged in the first corner, but it was getting stuck behind Buemi on a long strategy that ruined his day. One point is still a good result but it was slightly overshadowed by team-mate Hulkenberg in seventh.

Sebastien Buemi - 11th
He was quick all weekend and a little unlucky not to be rewarded with some points. In the race he decided to pit quite late and the decision paid off.

Tonio Liuzzi - 12th
He made some significant progress through the field early on, but when Buemi came out of the pits ahead of him his charge was stymied. He was in the quicker car but didn't have a big enough advantage on the straights to get past.

There were no major incidents in the first chicane © Getty Images
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Vitaly Petrov - 13th:
He managed to pick up five positions on the first lap but didn't have the pace to score any points. He struggled to overtake due to the Renault's low top speed on the high-speed track.

Pedro de la Rosa - 14th:
Started from 16th and overtook Alguersuari on the opening lap but a lack of pace stopped him getting any closer to the points.

Jamie Alguersuari - 15th:
For the second time in two races Alguersuari got a drive through penalty, this time for cutting the chicane. However, it made little difference to his final race position.

Adrian Sutil - 16th:
He was pushed wide into the gravel early on in the first lap and by the end of lap one he was at the back of the field. Force India tried changing his strategy but he didn't pay off.

Timo Glock - 17th:
He got a good start and overtook both Lotus cars, but suffered with rear brake problems. He still led the battle of the new teams and finished ahead of Kovalainen.

Heikki Kovalainen - 18th:
At the start he got in front of di Grassi but was then stuck behind Glock. Due to a lack of straight-line speed he wasn't able to overtake.

Sakon Yamamoto - 19th:
Main drama came with a pit-lane incident in which a mechanic was hospitalised. Rather predictably, Yamamoto finished last of the runners.

Jarno Trulli - DNF - Gearbox:
After making a comfortable start and leading the new teams, Trulli suffered a gearbox failure on lap 46 and was unable to record a result at his home circuit.

Lucas di Grassi - DNF - Mechanical failure:
Retired only three laps before the end, after qualifying ahead of team-mate Glock.

Bruno Senna - DNF- Mechanical failure:
Retired after 11 laps with mechanical problems. The main aim for Senna and the team is to look forward to Asia.

Lewis Hamilton - DNF - Collision:
After clouting the side of Massa's Ferrari at the second chicane, Hamilton was forced to retire on lap one. Scoring no points means he leaves Monza trailing Mark Webber by five points in the title standings.

Kamui Kobayashi - DNF - Gearbox:
After starting from the pit lane with a gearbox problem, the gremlins couldn't be overcome and Kobayashi's race was quickly cut short. He remains hopeful of better results in Asia.

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