Hamilton wins at Monza while Alonso smiles
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton added the Italian Grand Prix to his list of Formula One victories yesterday while Ferrari's Fernando Alonso stretched his overall championship lead to 37 points with third place.
Mexican driver Sergio Perez denied Alonso second place, overtaking the Spaniard seven laps from the finish in his Ferrari-powered Sauber in Ferrari's backyard. Hamilton's third win of the season, and 20th of his career, lifted the 2008 champion to second in the overall standings with seven races remaining. Alonso has 179 points, Hamilton 142 and Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen 141.
“It's been fantastic to win here. I'm just so happy for my team, it's been a fantastic day,” said Hamilton, who had added the Italian flag colours to his helmet for a race at one of Formula One's most historic and evocative circuits.
“Fernando is a twotime world champion so I'm very happy for him too,” he said of his former McLaren team mate after McLaren's third win in a row.
Champions Red Bull had a nightmare afternoon in the sunshine with both Sebastian Vettel, the reigning champion, and Australian Mark Webber retiring late in the race while in scoring positions. Vettel, who had been Alonso's closest rival in the standings before the start, retired six laps from the finish and slipped to fourth overall with 140 points.
The German had already taken a drive-through penalty after pushing Alonso wide on to the gravel and grass as the Spaniard tried to overtake out of the first Lesmo curve. “Okay, that's enough now,” Alonso said over the team radio.