Lewis Hamilton's Italian Grand Prix ended as it started – in first place –, but Sergio Perez was the hero of the day, coming from 12th on the grid to finish second, large in Hamilton's mirrors.
Felipe Massa (Ferrari) had a very encouraging start, pressuring the two front row-starting McLaren. When Jenson Button retired on lap 32, the Brazilian was able to take second. But behind him, in the second Ferrari, Fernando Alonso was quickly recovering from his bad qualifying the day before.
Having overtaken Paul di Resta (Force India), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), the Spaniard was knocking on Massa's door.
The two Ferrari drivers exchanged positions in very undramatic fashion, given Massa's fragile position within the team. It looked set for Hamilton to win, Alonso to come second and Massa to pick up a refreshing podium.
Except Sergio Perez (Sauber) was on a late charge, thanks to clever strategy. Sauber engineers had the Mexican starting on the harder compound, meaning he was flying in the last part of the race.
The picture was perfect: Massa letting Alonso by with Perez breathing dangerously down his neck – much like off the track.
In the end, Perez was able to get ahead of both red cars and just ran out of time to make a move on Hamilton.
Other notable twists include the two Red Bull retirements. First, it was Vettel who, after his drive-through penalty for aggressive driving while fighting with Alonso, came to a stop with fuel issues.
He was followed to the sidelines four laps later by Mark Webber, who spun out of the race.
This means both men have lost precious ground in the championship hunt. Hamilton (142 points) and Raikkonen (141) are now the two closest rivals to Alonso, whose lead has now grown back to 37.
Race results* – Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
1 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 53 laps 1.19'41"221
2 - Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 4"356
3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 20"594
4 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 29"667
5 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 30"881
6 - Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - 31"259
7 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 33"550
8 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 41"057
9 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 43"898
10 - Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 48"144
11 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 48"682
12 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 50"316
13 - Jerome D'Ambrosio (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'15"861
14 - Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
15 - Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
16 - Charles Pic (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1 lap
17 - Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1 lap
18 - Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1 lap
19 - Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1 lap
Fastest lap of the race by Nico Rosberg 1'27"239
Retirements
Lap 51 - Mark Webber
Lap 50 - Nico Hulkenberg
Lap 47 - Sebastian Vettel
Lap 32 - Jenson Button
Lap 8 - Jean Eric Vergne
Drivers' championship
1.Alonso 179; 2.Hamilton 142; 3.Raikkonen 141; 4.Vettel 140; 5.Webber 132; 6.Button 101; 7.Rosberg 83; 8.Grosjean 76; 9.Perez 65; 10.Massa 47; 11.Schumacher 43; 12.Kobayashi 35; 13.Di Resta 32; 14.Hulkenberg 31; 15.Maldonado 29; 16.Senna 25; 17.Vergne 8; 18.Ricciardo 4.
Constructors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 272; 2.McLaren-Mercedes 243; 3.Ferrari 226; 4.Lotus-Renault 217; 5.Mercedes 126; 6.Sauber-Ferrari 100; 7.Force India-Mercedes 63; 8.Williams-Renault 54; 9.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 12.
*Unofficial
Felipe Massa (Ferrari) had a very encouraging start, pressuring the two front row-starting McLaren. When Jenson Button retired on lap 32, the Brazilian was able to take second. But behind him, in the second Ferrari, Fernando Alonso was quickly recovering from his bad qualifying the day before.
Having overtaken Paul di Resta (Force India), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), the Spaniard was knocking on Massa's door.
The two Ferrari drivers exchanged positions in very undramatic fashion, given Massa's fragile position within the team. It looked set for Hamilton to win, Alonso to come second and Massa to pick up a refreshing podium.
Except Sergio Perez (Sauber) was on a late charge, thanks to clever strategy. Sauber engineers had the Mexican starting on the harder compound, meaning he was flying in the last part of the race.
The picture was perfect: Massa letting Alonso by with Perez breathing dangerously down his neck – much like off the track.
In the end, Perez was able to get ahead of both red cars and just ran out of time to make a move on Hamilton.
Other notable twists include the two Red Bull retirements. First, it was Vettel who, after his drive-through penalty for aggressive driving while fighting with Alonso, came to a stop with fuel issues.
He was followed to the sidelines four laps later by Mark Webber, who spun out of the race.
This means both men have lost precious ground in the championship hunt. Hamilton (142 points) and Raikkonen (141) are now the two closest rivals to Alonso, whose lead has now grown back to 37.
Race results* – Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
1 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 53 laps 1.19'41"221
2 - Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 4"356
3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 20"594
4 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 29"667
5 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 30"881
6 - Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - 31"259
7 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 33"550
8 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 41"057
9 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 43"898
10 - Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 48"144
11 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 48"682
12 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 50"316
13 - Jerome D'Ambrosio (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'15"861
14 - Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
15 - Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
16 - Charles Pic (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1 lap
17 - Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1 lap
18 - Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1 lap
19 - Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1 lap
Fastest lap of the race by Nico Rosberg 1'27"239
Retirements
Lap 51 - Mark Webber
Lap 50 - Nico Hulkenberg
Lap 47 - Sebastian Vettel
Lap 32 - Jenson Button
Lap 8 - Jean Eric Vergne
Drivers' championship
1.Alonso 179; 2.Hamilton 142; 3.Raikkonen 141; 4.Vettel 140; 5.Webber 132; 6.Button 101; 7.Rosberg 83; 8.Grosjean 76; 9.Perez 65; 10.Massa 47; 11.Schumacher 43; 12.Kobayashi 35; 13.Di Resta 32; 14.Hulkenberg 31; 15.Maldonado 29; 16.Senna 25; 17.Vergne 8; 18.Ricciardo 4.
Constructors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 272; 2.McLaren-Mercedes 243; 3.Ferrari 226; 4.Lotus-Renault 217; 5.Mercedes 126; 6.Sauber-Ferrari 100; 7.Force India-Mercedes 63; 8.Williams-Renault 54; 9.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 12.
*Unofficial