Lewis Hamilton won the incident packed Italian Grand Prix for his McLaren team and he is now second in the championship ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Alonso went from 10th to finish on the podium just behind the young Mexican driver Checo Perez in his Sauber. Felipe Massa finished fourth after letting Alonso through so the Spanish driver would gain maximum points.
Ron Denis of McLaren said after the race “If Lewis is absolutely committed to winning then he can win. At the end of the day it’s about winning first and who gets what afterwards is something that can be discussed. It would be totally inappropriate for me to say anything that would undermine Martin’s position. We’ve got a very strong car.”
Martin Whitmarsh also commented on the race and described Eddie Jordan’s claims that Lewis had already agreed terms with Mercedes as “fantasy”.
“I’m not surprised. I’ve had some knowledge of what’s been going on, we only want Lewis to stay if he wants to stay.”
Sauber’s Sergio Perez climbed from 12th on the grid to pass both Ferrari’s in the latter stages of the race and finish second. He is now linked as a replacement to Massa at Ferrari. His celebrations were in stark contrast to the disappointment of the Red Bull team who failed to score points in the race as both cars retired, the first time since Korea 2010.
Jenson Button, was running second when his engine blew up. This will massively effect his title chances. He tried to remain upbeat afterwards, saying he was looking forward to getting back in a car.
Asked if he was happy to have won at four of the most demanding circuits: Monza, Silverstone, Spa and Monte Carlo, Hamilton gently said: “Of course, I don’t really know what else to say. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to score victories with this great team.”
