Oliver WhiteWith Lewis Hamilton back in fifteenth and Kimi Raikkonen just ahead in fourteenth, tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix is going to be belter, especially if the weather continues to throw up a few surprises. Felipe Massa qualified sixth, but engineer Rob Smedley has hinted at the Brazilian being on a heavy fuel strategy. Heikki Kovalainen has the best chance out of everyone, starting in second and in a McLaren, but Sebastian Vettel on pole position will want to remain there for as long as he can.
The 2008 Italian Grand Prix Grid
Inclusive of penalties given – none so far.
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m37.555s |
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| Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 1m37.631s |
2 | |||
| 3 | Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m47.815s |
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| Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m38.445s |
4 | |||
| 5 | Nico Rosberg Williams 1m38.767s |
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| Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m38.894s |
6 | |||
| 7 | Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m39.152s |
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| Fernando Alonso Renault 1m39.751s |
8 | |||
| 9 | Timo Glock Toyota 1m39.787s |
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| Nick Heidfeld BMW 1m39.906s |
10 | |||
| 11 | Robert Kubica BMW 1m36.697s |
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| Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 1m36.698s |
12 | |||
| 13 | David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1m37.284s |
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| Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m37.522s |
14 | |||
| 15 | Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1m39.265s |
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| Rubens Barrichello Honda 1m36.510s |
16 | |||
| 17 | Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault 1m36.630s |
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| Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1m36.653s |
18 | |||
| 19 | Jenson Button Honda 1m37.006s |
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| Adrian Sutil Force India 1m37.417s |
20 |
Hi Oliver not sure I understood (Rob Smedley itw on ITV) exactly that… I understand that because his direct competitors are far behind -7th and 8th lines- Felipe and Rob have considered a more conservative approach than they would have otherwise… probably a bit more fuel you’re right butnot necessarily a heavy fuel strategy. I think they are going to watch carefully what is happening, a couple of spare laps in their tanks might well be just what they need.
Rob says that the objective was to get more points than their opponents… and win the race if it was an achievable goal -taking into account the fact that Heikki is in front-.
It is pretty obvious, at least since last sunday in Spa, that the brasilian is now engaged in a chess game and is decided to take advantage of every single opportunity that will be thrown at him.
After all this is also what it takes to be a WC…
It’s going to be some race I feel.
I hope you are right Paul. I am afraid it can be a very bad afternoon…
I feel ashamed that neither Lewis nor Kimi are on the front row(s). I don’t understand how the best drivers in the best cars cannot achieve that! Surely it has nothing to do with their talent, or with the rain itself. It has to do with (what appears to be) a stupid gamble. Kimi has not talked much about it, but Lewis admitted he gambled… and lost!
Now what choice are they left with? The one who’s got nothing to lose (Kimi) and the one who can’t afford to lose (Lewis) with the same dilemna!
If I were Kimi, Lewis would have to walk over my dead body to overtake me. I will give him a hell of a fight! Lewis who doesn’t care really about Kimi today (19 pts difference) cannot take it easy and wait until he can overtake because the threat for the championship stands on the 3rd row of the grid, so he will have to push, push push…
Of course Lewis can cross his fingers and hope the brazilian will make a mistake, or be unlucky… That is not was the facts are telling us, Felipe seems to be more calm and well decided no to do anything he will regret, no to do anything stupid.
I hope we will have a fair race, I hope the 3 brave pilots won’t do anything foolish… I hope but I am very worried today.
gonna be a right good race i hope that hamilton gets a good start and that they have a great battle through the field but i want vettel to have a good race and atleast get a podium