Lewis Hamilton was able to fend off the sudden charge by Sergio Perez to be hailed as the winner of the Italian Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso came through from being at 10th on the grid to third, adding to his Formula 1 points. Alonso got the advantage when Sebastian Vettel, his biggest rival, was imposed a penalty for forcing him off the road as they battled it out at the middle of the race. He later retired with a mechanical issue. For nearly the entire length of the race, it seemed like a straightforward McLaren one-two was a possibility. Even if Felipe Massa did very well at the start of the track by aiming to immediately pass Jenson Button for second and then force Hamilton into the first chicane, the poleman was soon able to move away.
Button was then able to move past Ferrari to achieve second right after their pitstops. With only 19 laps left, Button was compelled to park his McLaren as he approached the Parabolica, with what was known initially as a fuel pressure problem. This enabled Massa to reach the No. 2 position but with Alonso not far behind. The leader had gotten two places off the start, before getting past Kamui Kobayashi and Kimi Raikkonen who were moving one after the other.
Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel presented themselves to be more difficult opponents but they were later conquered by the Ferrari. Later on, Alonso arrived at the Curva Grande grass --- a move that would earn the champion a drivethrough penalty. Vettel appears to want to continue until sixth. Vettel appeared to be set at getting to sixth until being ordered to stop his car because of a developing technical problem five laps from home. Massa permitted Alonso to enter as an easy pass into second place. What’s different from the frontunners is that Perez began using the hard tyres, enabling him to run until lap 29 before his first pitstop.
