F1 Update from the iSport F1 Pitstop: Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso won the Italian GP in Monza courtesy the Ferrari pit crew writes iSporter Maharshi Vaishnav.
If I can summarize the Italian GP weekend, I am sure I will need more than 3.4 seconds. But then, that is precisely the time the ever reliable Ferrari pit crew spent on getting Fernando Alonso out of the crucial pit stop. The impeccable 16 men manning Alonso’s pit stops were just sublime.
The reason I am heaping all my praise for the Ferrari pit crew and not on Alonso the winner of the Italian GP is because the Ferrari pit crew saved a pivotal 1 second while Alonso had bungled up the start. Runner up Jenson Button’s pit crew took just 4.4 seconds to get him out but that wasn’t enough. A race which was virtually Button’s got robbed right under his nose because of this 1 second.
The critics of the sport need to look at instances like these before rubbishing the sport. I strongly feel this is the real Formula 1 and not the recurring controversies of diffusers, F-ducts and everything else that the FIA concocts.
For the tifosis, the Italian GP is the most important day in the year. It was more so this year because the team management at Ferrari were to take a call on writing off the 2010 season challenge or persist with it based on the team’s performance at this year’s Italian GP.
Stefano Domenicali reportedly told Corriere dello Sport that "Should Monza go really badly and Red Bull's lead continues to increase, then on Monday we will begin to use all of our staff and resources for the project of next season's car."
I feel this was a strange call considering that race winners take 25 points instead of the earlier 10 and hence Alonso’s 41 point deficit from Lewis Hamilton could easily have been erased with a couple of wins.
Anyways, Alonso’s win and Felipe Massa’s 3rd place finish ensures that Ferrari are still in the hunt for the Driver’s crown if not the Constructor’s title.
Ferrari’s pace was not convincing during the Free Practice sessions and the Red Bulls were again posing a genuine threat at usurping the Pole. But Alonso produced a magical lap out of nowhere to stake his claim of P1 and Massa managed a P3. I felt Massa should have tried harder and put in 1 more lap.
During the race though, Jenson Button caught Alonso napping and got a better start. Alonso tried his best to regain the advantage but failed and got his braking woefully wrong at Turn 1. This meant that Alonso had to chase Button for 35 laps instead of dictating the pace of the race.
Massa also managed a neat start and stayed at 3rd. However, as he approached the Della Roggia, he found Hamilton on the inside trying to overtake him at the turn. Massa quite brilliantly held his cool and his line and Hamilton being himself tried forcing his way through ended up colliding and damaging his steering. Both Alonso and Massa to their credits maintained breathing distance from Button never allowing him to run away with his lead.
The magic moment I mentioned earlier came on lap 37 when Alonso pitted – just 1 lap after Button had then seemingly done a brilliant pit stop. The Ferrari pit crew turned it around in unbelievable fashion and Alonso made it ahead of Button at the exit of the pit and turn 1. Massa came in on lap 38 and had an equally uneventful outing. This meant Alonso had to fend off Button till the end and Massa would anyways finish 3rd way ahead of the 4th place Vettel. Alonso enthralled the tifosis further by managing a rare hat-trick of claiming the Pole, the Race Win and the Fastest Lap.
Alonso (quite uncharacteristically) and Luca di Montezemolo were gracious in admitting that the win wouldn’t have been possible without the team’s extra efforts.
The Italian GP proved to be a memorable outing for Ferrari. They were the favorites to win their home race but their overall improvements including the straight line speeds and the handling of the car were impressive and promising. I hope and pray that they retain this momentum till the last race of the 2010 season.
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