It was not a great race but it was an important one. The McLaren one/two, with Alonso first, makes the driver's championship close to a two-horse race. Raikkonen and Massa are still in with mathematical chances but, as long as the McLaren drivers keep finishing GPs, they cannot be caught, so narrow is the points difference between first and second these days.
Fernando and Lewis
Fernando Alonso is the first of the four contenders to break through to four wins this season and he is the only one to have finished in the points at every race - yet he trails Hamilton in the championship. Reason for a slight adjustment in the points system, I think.
Going by form to date, the other three drivers will now take their turn to win one of the races, leaving them with four victories each and one race to go. Perhaps the winner of the last race will also be the champion, thereby ensuring that the guy with the most victories also wins out in the end. That is unlikely, of course, but IT would be nice from a symmetrical point of view, a form of icing on the cake of a very hard fought season.
As for the Monza race itself, it was entertaining enough, Lewis Hamilton's surprise move on Raikkonen from way back being a highlight. There is no doubt that Kimi was caught napping and in future drivers will watch Hamilton in their mirrors much more carefully.
Kubica too put in a stirling effort, fighting back from a botched pit stop, while Heidfeld did his usual quietly efficient job of bringing the BMW home in as high a position as it was capable of. There were times when it looked as though he might be able to contend for third spot with Raikkonen but they were short-lived indeed - the Ferraris are still too good, even when off form.
I seem to remember someone saying that all the tracks were good for Ferrari after Hungary but Monza certainly proved that theory wrong. The McLarens had a definite advantage here and Alonso's win looked effortless and inevitable. I would guess that the pendulum will continue to swing between the two teams for the remainder of the season and that McLaren will walk away with the constructor's championship at the end.
That all depends upon Thursday's meeting of the WMSC, of course, and we can only hope that its decisions do not interfere too much with such an interesting season. Monza was a slight break in the dark clouds hanging over McLaren, the win coinciding with rumors of a possible deal hammered out between the warring teams (swiftly denied by Jean Todt, but perhaps a sign that things are not quite as clear-cut as may have appeared recently).
Thursday's child has far to go, runs the nursery rhyme - let's hope that the wheels don't fall off F1 this coming Thursday.
Fernando and Lewis
Fernando Alonso is the first of the four contenders to break through to four wins this season and he is the only one to have finished in the points at every race - yet he trails Hamilton in the championship. Reason for a slight adjustment in the points system, I think.
Going by form to date, the other three drivers will now take their turn to win one of the races, leaving them with four victories each and one race to go. Perhaps the winner of the last race will also be the champion, thereby ensuring that the guy with the most victories also wins out in the end. That is unlikely, of course, but IT would be nice from a symmetrical point of view, a form of icing on the cake of a very hard fought season.
As for the Monza race itself, it was entertaining enough, Lewis Hamilton's surprise move on Raikkonen from way back being a highlight. There is no doubt that Kimi was caught napping and in future drivers will watch Hamilton in their mirrors much more carefully.
Kubica too put in a stirling effort, fighting back from a botched pit stop, while Heidfeld did his usual quietly efficient job of bringing the BMW home in as high a position as it was capable of. There were times when it looked as though he might be able to contend for third spot with Raikkonen but they were short-lived indeed - the Ferraris are still too good, even when off form.
I seem to remember someone saying that all the tracks were good for Ferrari after Hungary but Monza certainly proved that theory wrong. The McLarens had a definite advantage here and Alonso's win looked effortless and inevitable. I would guess that the pendulum will continue to swing between the two teams for the remainder of the season and that McLaren will walk away with the constructor's championship at the end.
That all depends upon Thursday's meeting of the WMSC, of course, and we can only hope that its decisions do not interfere too much with such an interesting season. Monza was a slight break in the dark clouds hanging over McLaren, the win coinciding with rumors of a possible deal hammered out between the warring teams (swiftly denied by Jean Todt, but perhaps a sign that things are not quite as clear-cut as may have appeared recently).
Thursday's child has far to go, runs the nursery rhyme - let's hope that the wheels don't fall off F1 this coming Thursday.