There was so much tension in the air, as the start of the Italian GP was at hand. The "red sea" in the grandstands was eagerly waiting for their home heroes to win. And the odds were definitely on the Red Team's side, as Kimi and Sebastian were to start from the front row. According to my perfect plan the red-suited home heroes were going to make it a 1-2...
The start was extremely intense. Kimi on pole got a perfect start, and he was absolutely determined to dive first into Turn 1. Sebastian clearly dreamt of a chance to challenge his teammate right at the start, but Kimi defended his lead with attitude. Hamilton, too was trying everything to get past at least one of the Ferraris. Going into Variante, the Briton was already challenging Sebastian for P2. It led into a bizarre situation, where Sebastian ended up hitting Hamilton's Mercedes. The contact caused Sebastian to spin; there was also significant damage to the front wing and side-pod of the German's SF71-H. Sebastian had to pit for a new nose. He also switched to the soft Pirellis. However, safety car had been deployed, because Sauber's Ericsson had hit Hartley's Toro Rosso at the start, ending the race for the New Zealander. Thanks to the safety car, Sebastian's race wasn't totally ruined, although he had naturally dropped down to the back of the pack.
Safety car came in on lap 3. And what a hair-raising re-start it was! Hamilton was stubborn to snatch the lead from Kimi, and the Briton attacked in Turn 1, making it past Kimi. But Kimi wasn't going to let the lead be taken away from him. Going into Variante, the Iceman made a move on Hamilton, taking back the lead! It was fantastic to see such passionate Kimi on track. What a battle of titans this was going to be! Red Bull's Verstappen had managed to pass Bottas at the start, and the Finn had difficulties to match the Dutchman's pace, although Red Bull's race pace was everything but competitive.
The battle for victory was so electrifying. Kimi proved unable to pull away from Hamilton. The gap between these rivals varied from DRS distance to a bit over a second. There was no room for mistakes. Ferrari called Kimi in already on lap 21, and the Iceman switched to the yellow-marked middle compound. Kimi's pit stop was close to perfection, as it took only 2.2 seconds. Mercedes, too seemed ready to call Hamilton in, but it was all about bluffing, and both Mercedes aces stayed out. By that time Sebastian had made it past Renault's Sainz, claiming P7 already. Sebastian definitely offered a spectacular overtaking show, making his way through the field one by one.
Kimi had re-joined the track in P4, and now it was all about racing against the clock. The gap to Hamilton had to maintain under 24 seconds, in order for Kimi to take the lead after Hamilton's pit stop. And Kimi definitely knew, what he had to do. The flying Iceman kept banging fastest lap times, which meant headache for Hamilton. Meanwhile, Ricciardo's race came to a premature end, as the Australian's RB14 was hit with a power unit issue, unfortunately not the first one this season. What a frustrating race for the Honey Badger, who had had to start to the race from the back of the pack and after a hard struggle had to settle for DNF.
Hamilton pitted not until on lap 29. The Briton opted for the soft compound as well, and re-joined the track in P3. His teammate Bottas was now leading the race, and Kimi in P2 was rapidly closing the gap to his fellow countryman... The team's message to Bottas was clear: "Keep Kimi behind". Hamilton was now 5 seconds behind the Iceman. Meanwhile, Sebastian pitted for the second time, for another set of super-soft Pirellis. Sebastian re-joined the track in P10, which meant, that he had to make the overtaking round all over again...
Bottas did, what the team wanted him to do; he defended his position with determination, and managed to keep Kimi behind. In other words, Bottas gave the perfect help to Hamilton, who managed to close the gap to Kimi, and was in no time right at the Iceman's tail. Kimi tried his best to find an opportunity to overtake his compatriot, but the Iceman was stuck. Until Bottas pitted on lap 36, also for a fresh set of soft tyres. The Finn re-joined the track in P4; helping Hamilton and stretching his first stint cost him losing a position to Verstappen.
Hamilton had 9 laps fresher tyres, and he was frighteningly close to Kimi. Driving behind Bottas had caused heavy degradation on Kimi's tyres, and the situation worsened lap by lap. My heart pounded when I watched the battle between the two. Every cell in me was hoping, that Kimi would be able to hold Hamilton back, and the Iceman would get his well-deserved win. That would have been the perfect fairy-tale... But like you all know, life doesn't often go like in fairy-tales. After a ten-lap heroic battle, Kimi's rear tyres were completely blistered and gone, and Hamilton forced himself past the Iceman, going into Turn 1. What a bitter moment it was! Kimi had done everything he possibly could to defend his lead, but there was nothing he could do about the dying tyres.
Meanwhile, there was drama between Verstappen and Bottas, who were battling for the fourth place. With ten laps to go, Bottas was hungry to make a move on Verstappen in Turn 1. Verstappen ended up changing his line at the braking, which caused contact between the two; Bottas went off track but was able to continue. The stewards took this incident into investigation, and Verstappen was handed a 5-second time penalty for changing his line at the braking.
As soon as Hamilton managed to make it past Kimi, he disappeared into the horizon. Kimi had no chance to match the Briton's pace on his dying tyres. Luckily there was no threat coming from behind. Bottas was challenging Verstappen for P4, although the Finn was going to claim P4 anyway due to the Dutchman's time penalty. However, the Dutchman was absolutely stubborn and wasn't going to let Bottas past, no matter the penalty.
Although Ferrari held all the keys for a possible 1-2 today, Hamilton crossed the finish line as the race winner, which was a massive disappointment for the passionate home crowd. Kimi had fought like a lion, and he was the stunning runner-up. He was also voted as the Driver of the Day. Due to Verstappen's penalty Bottas was third and Vettel fourth, and the hot-headed Red Bull ace had to settle for P5. Grosjean made it an impressive P6 for Haas. The Frenchman was followed by the pink duo of Ocon and Perez. Sainz finished the race in P9, and Williams' Stroll was the last man to score points.
Sebastian's competitive instinct is definitely one of his strengths. But sometimes it turns out as a weakness as well. Sebastian is a master of controlling the race, when he has the lead in his hands. But losing to his teammate is awfully hard for him. The disappointment and frustration of losing makes him do bad and hesitated decisions... Today's crash to Hamilton was completely unnecessary. He should have thought things further than a few corners away... It was only the opening lap, there was the whole race ahead of him! But he was so hungry to get the lead, which is completely understandable. He wanted to give the best result to the Tifosi... Everyone has a weakness, even the four-time world champion. But I hope Sebastian knows, that he has my support, and the support of millions of other fans. Bad moments come and go. He can learn from this and bounce back stronger. He has done it before, so I know he can do it again! He has what it takes to turn the tables in the fight for the championship.
However, the crash proved costly for Sebastian. Hamilton extended his lead to 30 points in the championship standings. Now the gap is bigger than any time before this season. Ferrari are 25 points down on Mercedes in the constructors' standings.
Then there's always the "what if". With a longer first stint, would Kimi have been able to keep his lead? We're never going to find out. But after today's race one thing is for sure; Ferrari HAVE TO renew Kimi's contract for next year! They are absolutely out of their minds, if they don't! They have a pure diamond in Kimi! So I'm looking forward to a contract announcement soon!
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