Italian Grand Prix (2013) RESULT

With a Red Bull front row and Massa and Alonso in the Ferraris in fourth and fifth, can Ferrari make their home Grand Prix at Monza a win?

Qualifying for the 2013 Italian Grand Prix at Monza left Red Bull at the front and the home boys, Ferrari, in fourth and fifth, with a miserable Hamilton in the Mercedes down in twelfth.

Which augered well for a strong finish for Red Bull and a battle for Alonso to get on the podium and Hamilton to even finish in the points. And that’s exactly what the race gave us.

Despite flat spotting his tyres as he hit the first corner from the start, Vettel drove on unhindered, pulling out a six second lead before his first pit stop and Alonso, starting fifth, managing to pass both Hulkenberg and Webber to move up in to third.

Alonso then passed Massa for second spot and set after Vettel, with the Red Bull pitting first and leaving Alonso out and in the lead. But Alonso was harried b y Webber and, when he pitted, he came out ten seconds behind Vettel.

Despite damage to his front wing, and a temperamental gearbox, Webber managed to hold on to third place for his first podium at Monza and Masssa kept in touch enough to give Ferrari a fourth place to go with Alonso’s second.

Hulkenberg – who had surprisingly started third – did a great job to hang on to fifth position with the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg in sixth, with Daniel Ricciardo taking seventh and Romain Grosjean eighth in the Lotus.

In ninth place came Hamilton in the Mercedes with the most exciting drive of the day as he scythed through the field close to the end after being forced in to a two stop strategy after suffering a puncture, managing to pass both Button and Perez in the McLarens in the closing stage.

That left Jenson Button in ninth, but Perez lost out on tenth place to Kimi Raikkonen in the Lotus, with Raikkonen almost catching Button too by the finishing line.

Sebastian Vettel now has a lead of 53 points with just 175 points left up for grabs this season. Which probably means this year’s championship – drivers and constructors – is all but a done deal.