Rising star Vettel wins maiden F1 race in wet Monza
Sebastian Vettel replaces Fernando Alonso as the youngest F1 winner.
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Sunday, 14, Sep 2008 09:07
Sebastian Vettel has won his first race while Lewis Hamilton was back in seventh in the Italian grand prix.
Vettel, who started on pole, fought against the changing conditions to give Torro Rosso their first F1 win.
Hamilton's McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen was second ahead of BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa finished in sixth ahead of Hamilton to trial the Briton by just one point in the drivers' championship.
Massa's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen is effectively out of the title race after languishing in ninth place.
But it was Vettel's day as he becomes the youngest F1 winner in history after coping best with the wet conditions.
The 21-year-old never looked like surrendering his lead and built up a lead of over ten seconds when he pitted on lap 18.
Vettel switched to intermediate tyres, when he pitted again on 36, after the track dried out. And the German eased off in the final stages as he crossed the chequered flag more than ten seconds ahead of Kovalaienen after 53 impressive laps.
In contrast to his McLaren team-mate, Hamilton had a forgettable day. The 23-year-old, who started from 15th on pole, moved up to second place.
But he had to make an unplanned second pit stop on lap 36 to change tyres. That dropped him down the grid and he held off a late challenge from Red Bull’s Mark Webber to finish seventh.
Next stop is Singapore for the night race on September 28th.