The biggest talking point at the start of the Italian GP today was the utter confusion and madness of the current penalty system in F1. Of all the drivers on the grid, the only one who actually started from their qualifying position was Lewis Hamilton. Everyone else moved around (either up or down) due to penalties.
Once the race got underway, Hamilton was safe down to turn 1 and was pretty much never seen again after that until the chequered flag. Behind him, Lance Stroll was jumped by Esteban Ocon, while Valtteri Bottas initially got passed by Kimi Raikkonen before regaining the position. Riakkonen was then predictably "overtaken" by his teammate and title contender Sebastian Vettel.
Ocon and Stroll were briefly able to enjoy their time in the podium places but it wasn't long before Bottas had passed Stroll and then Ocon in the space of just a couple of laps. Even though the Ferraris seemed to be down on power, Vettel had no trouble passing the Mercedes-powered Williams and Force India either.
Tearing his way through the grid was Ricciardo, however, who was making up a bagful of places after starting in P16. His teammate? Not so good. In typically Max form, he blasted out of the blocks at the start and didn't keep us waiting long before he was tangled up in mischief trying to make an overly-ambitious/aggressive move. This time he tangled with Felipe Massa and got a shredded front right tyre and a damaged nose for his trouble. By the time he crawled all the way around the track to the pits, he re-emerged dead last. Again, it was a question of "What might have been??" because Red Bull was very clearly stronger than Red Bull in this race and with Monza being a very friendly track for overtaking, something that Verstappen isn't shy about doing, you'd have fancied their chances to salvage this race and get in amongst the top 5.
Elsewhere on track, Fernando Alonso once again found himself scrapping with the wasted Renault of Palmer. The 2 tangled going into the chicane and Palmer drove straight across the curve then didn't yield the place to Alonso. The stewards delivered a 5-second penalty which Alonso repeatedly declared "a joke" on team radio. Palmer later had to retire but Alonso was still raging and asked where he was? When he heard that Palmer was out of the race, Alonso (with some satisfaction) announced simply "Karma". He didn't come here for any nonsense.
With McLaren supposedly making a decision about the future of the relationship with Honda this week, it may have made things easier for the McLaren bosses when both cars had to retire. There's talk that a partnership with Renault may be on the way, but then also talk that if McLaren dumps Honda there'll be a lawsuit on the way for breach of contract.
With no such woes, Mercedes celebrated a 1-2 finish. Lewis Hamilton's victory not only took him to the front of the WDC for the first time this season (and the first time since Italy 2016!), but it's also the first time this season that a driver has won back-to-back races. The last 2 races have been crucial for Hamilton's title hopes. Heading to Singapore, which has been a difficult track for Mercedes, Vettel couldn't be allowed to run away with the championship. Now with Hamilton holding a small 3-point lead, it may not be as damaging in Singapore if Ferrari don't resolve their woes from Monza.
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