Seb Vettel Takes Dominant Italian Grand Prix Victory

Sebastian Vettel has taken a dominant Italian Grand Prix victory, scoring his 32nd career race win and his third victory at the classic Monza circuit.

Vettel and Hamilton shared the honours in Friday's two practice sessions with Vettel then taking Red Bull's 50th pole position on Saturday after the shock elimination of Raikkonen and Hamilton in the second qualifying session.

The main question ahead of the race was the weather. Short showers just prior to the race looked to throw another variable into the mix but it was a dry start as Vettel headed to turn one in the lead.

Webber's start was - oddly - strong but the Aussie lost out to Felipe Massa on the run to the first corner. Nico Hulkenberg, who had starred in qualifying, dropped to fifth on the first lap while 'Iceman' Kimi Raikkonen made an uncharacteristic error, running into the back of Sergio Perez at turn one.

Paul Di Resta was the first retirement from the race after he collided with Romain Grosjean at the second chicane on lap one. The Scot conceded that it was completed his fault but Grosjean's car seemed to be made of steel, coming away from the clash unscathed.

Alonso was a man on the move early on, taking Mark Webber for third after a stunning move around the outside into the second chicane. The Spaniard then displaced team-mate Massa in an easy move into turn one, the number two driver not putting up much of a fight.

Sebastian Vettel entered the pits on lap 23 for his only stop of the race and by that time, he had extended his lead to a formidable six seconds. Strangely, Ferrari didn't pit Alonso until lap 27. This proved to be the wrong move with the Spaniard emerging nearly 11 seconds down on his championship rival.

With fresher tyres, Alonso managed to close the gap to 5.4 seconds by the chequered flag as Vettel crossed the line to take a clear race win. The triple world champion had to nurse his car throughout the race after uncharacteristically flat-spotting his tyre at the first turn and suffering a gearbox problem towards the end of the race, meaning he had to short shift.

However, despite the issues, he still took his second consecutive race victory as he continued to extend his lead in the driver's championship. Alonso put a Ferrari presence on the podium, much to the Tifosi's delight, with a strong drive from fifth on the grid. He made some decisive overtaking moves and showed impressively consistent pace throughout the 53-lap race.

Mark Webber, the ultimate F1 lad, rounded out the podium finishes after another good drive in his final season in F1. It was a popular result in his final European Formula 1 race but he just didn't have the pace to challenge Vettel or pass the richest man in motorsport, Fernando Alonso.

Felipe Massa's improved form arrived at the perfect time - Ferrari admitting that a decision on their 2014 driver line-up would be imminent - with a fourth place finish on Ferrari's home turf. Nico Hulkenberg drove an impressive race for Sauber, keeping Nico Rosberg at bay in below-par machinery to take fifth place.

Ricciardo equalled the biggest points haul of his career with seventh place. The newly signed 2014 Red Bull driver drove a good defensive race after maintaining his position on the first lap and keeping the likes of Jenson Button and Romain Grosjean at bay.

Grosjean finished in eighth place to take Lotus's only points of the race, surviving a big hit from Di Resta on lap one and keeping a charging Lewis Hamilton at bay in the closing stages.

Hamilton had a strong recovery drive after a slow puncture brought his first stop forward. This meant switching to a two-stop strategy, giving the Brit plenty of work to do. However he had a storming drive through the field to nab a few points by the chequered flag.

Button took the final point in 10th despite a considerable amount of pressure from Kimi Raikkonen in the closing stages. He had a scare before the race even started after a fuel pump problem caused chaos in the McLaren garage. However Button's mechanics - along with a few from the opposite side of the garage - did a sterling job getting his car repaired and ready for lights out.

Raikkonen's first lap clash took him out of contention for a podium finish. The Finn was consistently fast throughout the race but he could only recover to 11th place, his second consecutive race outside of the points.

Perez, Gutierrez, Maldonado and Bottas rounded out the mid-fielders with Adrian Sutil being classified in 16th despite retiring from the race. Pic and van der Garde out-raced the two Marussias with Bianchi finishing ahead of Chilton.

So it was another Vettel victory, his sixth win of the 2013 season as he continues to edge closer to his fourth consecutive driver's title. However, Ferrari looks to have closed the gap on Red Bull with both Lotus and Mercedes looking good in race trim too.

The next round of the 2013 season: Singapore and the only night race on the Formula 1 calendar. The tight and twisty circuit provides a completely different challenge to the classic, high-speed Monza circuit under floodlights. Bring it on!