False promise from Force India and Ferrari
In the hours after qualifying and the build-up to the Grand Prix, Ferrari looked strong and trailed pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton by around three tenths in the final Qualifying session, leading to anticipation of a close race between the squad from Maranello and the all-conquering Mercedes outfit.
This turned out to be somewhat an anti-climax, as Raikkonen failed to find a gear at the start, dropping to the back, and Vettel came close to a lunge into the first chicane that ultimately didn’t work for the 3 time Monza winner. The four-time world champion slipped further back as the race wore on. Vettel’s teammate, though, fought back on yet another occasion in 2015 to take the chequered flag before both Force India’s to finish fifth.
Speaking of Vijay Mallya’s team, they would perhaps feel slightly disappointed that their early Friday pace failed to spill over into Saturday and Sunday on a track that should have suited the car’s low drag and high power characteristics.
Honda still at a disadvantage
Following claims by Yasuhisa Arai that the Honda engine in the McLaren is on a par with the Renault engine used by Red Bull and Toro Rosso, it would appear that the Japanese firm still has a mountain to climb before such an assessment can be widely agreed upon, based on the battle between Max Verstappen in the Red Bull junior team and both McLaren drivers at a couple of points during Sunday’s race.
First, Alonso was passed by the 17-year old without reply, then Jenson Button’s lead was cut down in a matter of laps. The Dutchman passed the 2009 World Champion with the aid of DRS. Whilst Button came back at him a lap later, he didn’t have the power to pull up alongside Verstappen, even with a helping hand. Further moves by the 3 other Red Bull drivers, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat, in the opening laps underline the gap between Honda and Renault, even when the McLaren had the lowest downforce of any of the teams at the Temple of Speed.
Free tyre choice maybe the answer
Although Paul Hembery has claimed free tyre choice is impossible, it could add some ambiguity over race strategy. Several drivers demonstrated how effective abstract tyre strategies can be, while it also treated fans to some on-track activity during the largely one-stop affair. Both Red Bulls, both Toro Rossos and Fernando Alonso started on the White-marked medium tyre and all were involved in battles throughout the Grand Prix, notably Daniel Ricciardo’s late move on Marcus Ericsson to snatch eighth place from the Sauber driver.
To sum up, if Pirelli won’t allow totally free choice of tyre compounds for safety reasons, they are right to do so, but if the rule nominating a driver’s starting tyre based on whether or not they reached Q3 is removed then it adds an element of uncertainty for the fans whilst maintaining a safe and sensible platform on which the drivers can race.
Button holding his own against Alonso
With a teammate of the calibre of Fernando Alonso, not many expected Jenson Button to be so close, if not arguably ahead, of his Spanish counterpart. Button qualified ahead of Alonso by one-tenth of a second on Saturday, but the pair were robbed of a last gasp fight for 14th place when Alonso was forced into retirement with just a handful of laps remaining.
Not only throughout this weekend, when Button headed into Saturday with a meagre 20 laps under his belt, but throughout the whole season the 2009 World Champion has been able to compete closely with his 2-time champion teammate and thus staked a claim for McLaren to avoid the temptation to put GP2 series leader Stoffel Vandoorne into the second seat alongside Alonso for 2016. So far, the 35-year old has kept himself in the reckoning to stay at Woking for a seventh season, and it’s hard to see any reason why McLaren wouldn’t let him.
The dawn of the Hamilton era
Since last year’s Italian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton has been virtually unstoppable, he’s taken 12 victories, five podium finishes and has ended just the one race off the podium. Even in that race he extended his championship lead by finishing sixth in this year’s Hungarian round.
If this run extends through next year Hamilton could achieve his fourth title, therefore eclipsing his hero Ayrton Senna and bringing him level with the equally legendary Alain Prost. If Mercedes continue to develop cars of the standard that they have for the last two years, and if Ferrari’s resurgence carries on, the rivalry from the late 1980’s and early 90’s may well be rekindled in Hamilton and Vettel. For the time being, though, we as fans are witnessing the making of a legendary driver who is bound to go down in history as one of the true great Formula 1 drivers.
