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The 2007 Italian Grand Prix, officially the LXXVII Gran Premio Santander d'Italia was the thirteenth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, which took place at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy, on 9 September 2007.[1][2] The race would see Fernando Alonso claim his final victory for McLaren-Mercedes ahead of teammate and rival Lewis Hamilton, closing the gap between them in the Championship to just three points.[2]

With a recent run of form for Ferrari the loyal tifosi expected to see the Scuderia dominate on home soil, and were therefore left disappointed when Alonso claimed pole position during qualifying.[2] Hamilton made it a McLaren-Mercedes front-row lock out ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa, while the Brazilian's teammate Kimi Räikkönen could only muster fifth behind Nick Heidfeld.[2]

The start of the race saw the top three dive into the Rettifilo in grid order, with Alonso fending off the attentions of Hamilton and Massa.[2] Behind, Räikkönen managed to slip past Heidfeld for fourth, while David Coulthard made ground in the midfield congestion, leaping up to fifteenth from twentieth.[2]

The rest of the opening lap passed without issue, and looked set to be a flatout affair until Coulthard flew off the circuit at Curva Grande on lap two, bringing out the Safety Car.[2] The cause of his accident was later attributed to damage sustained at the first chicane, with the Scot climbing out of his ruined Red Bull-Renault unaided.[2]

The race resumed on lap seven, with Alonso easing away from Hamilton to leave the Brit to fend off the two Ferraris.[2] Indeed, Hamilton would have to place his car carefully to keep an aggressive Massa at bay, until the #5 Ferrari suddenly dived into the pits on lap nine, a sign that all was not well with the Brazilian's car.[2]

A lap later and Massa was out for good, suspension damage ending his race and potentially his bid for the Championship.[2] Räikkönen was hence left as the lone Ferrari against the two McLarens, but the Finn could muster no response to either of the silver machines.[2]

Yet, the tifosi's hopes were given a boost on lap nineteen, as Hamilton picked up a puncture towards the end of the lap, and had to make his first stop early.[2] That dumped the Championship leader back down to sixth as the rest of the field made their stops, although with fresh tyres and clear air Hamilton was able to match Räikkönen's times up ahead.[2]

Indeed, despite leading the race for four laps between Alonso's stop and his own, Räikkönen would be pounced upon by Hamilton when he emerged from the pits, the Brit scything past the Ferrari to reclaim second.[2] The only time Räikkönen headed a McLaren again would be during the second round of stops, although that time around Alonso would be able to rejoin without losing the lead, while Räikkönen only ran two laps longer than Hamilton.[2]

With that a rather tame Italian Grand Prix was over, with Alonso leading Hamilton across the line to a dominant one-two for McLaren, with Räikkönen completing the podium in a distant third.[2] Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica were next ahead of Nico Rosberg, while Heikki Kovalainen and Jenson Button secured the remaining points.[2]

Once the race was over attention would focus on an FIA Hearing to be held on 13 September, which would make a ruling on the McLaren/Ferrari "Spygate" allegations which had been rumbling in the F1 paddock since the 2007 United States Grand Prix.[3] The FIA had previously dismissed the case after a hearing on 26 July 2007, which found that McLaren had used Ferrari's technical secrets, but lacked the evidence to enact a punishment.[4] The FIA had subsequently obtained new information and recalled the case, after an appeal from Ferrari regarding the original hearing.[3]

Background[]

Felipe Massa secured his third victory of the campaign, meaning the entire top four in the Championship had three wins apiece with five races to go. However, while the Brazilian had moved back ahead of his teammate Kimi Räikkönen in Turkey, he still trailed Championship leader Lewis Hamilton by fifteen points. Indeed, the Brit had just managed to retain his lead at the head of the pack, with Fernando Alonso closing to within five of the rookie.

In the Constructors Championship it was still McLaren-Mercedes who led the charge, although a maximum score for Ferrari had seriously damaged their advantage. Indeed, the Scuderia would sit just eleven points behind the Anglo-German alliance heading to Italy, with a one-two on home soil potentially enough to put them ahead. Elsewhere, BMW Sauber once again reinforced their third place status ahead of Renault, with no changes to the rest of the contenders.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 2007 Italian Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-22 Mercedes FO 108T 2.4 V8 B
2 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-22 Mercedes FO 108T 2.4 V8 B
3 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France ING Renault F1 Team Renault R27 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
4 Finland Heikki Kovalainen France ING Renault F1 Team Renault R27 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
5 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2007 Ferrari 056 2007 2.4 V8 B
6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2007 Ferrari 056 2007 2.4 V8 B
7 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda Racing F1 Team Honda RA107 Honda RA807E 2.4 V8 B
8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda Racing F1 Team Honda RA107 Honda RA807E 2.4 V8 B
9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.07 BMW P86/7 2.4 V8 B
10 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.07 BMW P86/7 2.4 V8 B
11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF107 Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8 B
12 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF107 Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8 B
14 United Kingdom David Coulthard Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB3 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
15 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB3 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
16 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams FW29 Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8 B
17 Austria Alexander Wurz United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams FW29 Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8 B
18 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR2 Ferrari 056 2006 2.4 V8 B
19 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR2 Ferrari 056 2006 2.4 V8 B
20 Germany Adrian Sutil Netherlands Etihad Alder Spyker F1 Team Spyker F8-VII-B Ferrari 056 2006 2.4 V8 B
21 Japan Sakon Yamamoto Netherlands Etihad Alder Spyker F1 Team Spyker F8-VII-B Ferrari 056 2006 2.4 V8 B
22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri F1 Team Super Aguri SA07 Honda RA807E 2.4 V8 B
23 United Kingdom Anthony Davidson Japan Super Aguri F1 Team Super Aguri SA07 Honda RA807E 2.4 V8 B
Source:[5]

Practice Overview[]

FP1[]

FP2[]

FP3[]

Qualifying[]

Q1[]

Q2[]

Q3[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 2007 Italian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
Pos. Time Pos. Time Pos. Time
1 1 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1 1:21.718 1 1:21.356 1 1:21.997 1
2 2 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 2 1:21.956 2 1:21.746 2 1:22.034 2
3 5 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 3 1:22.309 3 1:21.993 3 1:22.549 3
4 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 6 1:23.107 6 1:22.466 4 1:23.174 4
5 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 4 1:22.673 4 1:22.369 5 1:23.183 5
6 10 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber 5 1:23.088 5 1:22.400 6 1:23.446 6
7 4 Finland Heikki Kovalainen France Renault 9 1:23.505 10 1:23.134 7 1:24.102 7
8 16 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 7 1:23.333 7 1:22.748 8 1:24.382 8
9 12 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 15 1:23.724 9 1:23.107 9 1:24.555 9
10 7 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 13 1:23.639 8 1:23.021 10 1:25.165 10
11 15 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull-Renault 11 1:23.575 11 1:23.166 11
12 8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 8 1:23.474 12 1:23.176 12
13 17 Austria Alexander Wurz United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 16 1:23.739 13 1:23.209 13
14 23 United Kingdom Anthony Davidson Japan Super Aguri-Honda 14 1:23.646 14 1:23.274 14
15 3 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 10 1:23.559 15 1:23.325 15
16 19 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 12 1:23.578 16 1:23.351 16
17 22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 17 1:23.749 17
18 11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 18 1:23.787 18
19 18 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 19 1:23.886 19
20 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard Austria Red Bull-Renault 20 1:24.019 20
21 20 Germany Adrian Sutil Netherlands Spyker-Ferrari 21 1:24.699 21
22 21 Japan Sakon Yamamoto Netherlands Spyker-Ferrari 22 1:25.084 22
Source:[6]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Fernando Alonso 2
______________ Lewis Hamilton
Row 2 3 ______________
Felipe Massa 4
______________ Nick Heidfeld
Row 3 5 ______________
Kimi Räikkönen 6
______________ Robert Kubica
Row 4 7 ______________
Heikki Kovalainen 8
______________ Nico Rosberg
Row 5 9 ______________
Jarno Trulli 10
______________ Jenson Button
Row 6 11 ______________
Mark Webber 12
______________ Rubens Barrichello
Row 7 13 ______________
Alexander Wurz 14
______________ Anthony Davidson
Row 8 15 ______________
Giancarlo Fisichella 16
______________ Sebastian Vettel
Row 9 17 ______________
Takuma Sato 18
______________ Ralf Schumacher
Row 10 19 ______________
Vitantonio Liuzzi 20
______________ David Coulthard
Row 11 21 ______________
Adrian Sutil 22
______________ Sakon Yamamoto

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 2007 Italian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 53 1:18:37.806 1 10
2 2 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 53 +6.062s 2 8
3 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 53 +27.325s 5 6
4 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 53 +56.562s 4 5
5 10 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber 53 +1:00.558 6 4
6 16 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 53 +1:05.810 8 3
7 4 Finland Heikki Kovalainen France Renault 53 +1:06.751 7 2
8 7 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 53 +1:12.168 10 1
9 15 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull-Renault 53 +1:15.879 11
10 8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 53 +1:16.958 12
11 12 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 53 +1:17.736 9
12 3 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 52 +1 Lap 15
13 17 Austria Alexander Wurz United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 52 +1 Lap 13
14 23 United Kingdom Anthony Davidson Japan Super Aguri-Honda 52 +1 Lap 14
15 11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 52 +1 Lap 18
16 22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 52 +1 Lap 17
17 18 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 52 +1 Lap 19
18 19 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 52 +1 Lap 16
19 20 Germany Adrian Sutil Netherlands Spyker-Ferrari 52 +1 Lap 21
20 21 Japan Sakon Yamamoto Netherlands Spyker-Ferrari 52 +1 Lap 22
Ret 5 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 10 Suspension 3
Ret 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard Austria Red Bull-Renault 1 Accident 20
Source:[7]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Fernando Alonso would inch closer to Lewis Hamilton at the top of the Championship hunt with victory in Italy, the Spanish racer closing the gap to just three points with four rounds to go. They had both increased their advantage over third placed Kimi Räikkönen, who had slipped fifteen behind Alonso, while Felipe Massa was on the verge of dropping out of the hunt altogether in fourth, having fallen 23 behind. Elsewhere, Nick Heidfeld was still mathematically in the hunt in fifth, but effectively needed to win all four of the remaining races, and see Hamilton fail to score.

In the Constructors Championship it was McLaren-Mercedes who continued to lead the way, and had extended their advantage to 23 points over Ferrari. Furthermore, with third placed BMW Sauber falling 80 points behind and out of mathematical range, there was a real threat that the FIA Hearing scheduled for 13 September could decide the Constructors Championship if McLaren were thrown out of the Championship. The Swiss-German alliance would therefore remain in the hunt, but would still have to overcome a 57 point deficit.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 92
2 Spain Fernando Alonso 89
3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 74 ▲1
4 Brazil Felipe Massa 69 ▼1
5 Germany Nick Heidfeld 52
6 Poland Robert Kubica 33
7 Finland Heikki Kovalainen 21
8 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 17
9 Austria Alexander Wurz 13
10 Germany Nico Rosberg 12
11 Australia Mark Webber 8
12 United Kingdom David Coulthard 8
13 Italy Jarno Trulli 7
14 Germany Ralf Schumacher 5
15 Japan Takuma Sato 4
16 United Kingdom Jenson Button 2
17 Germany Sebastian Vettel 1
World Championship for Constructors*
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 166
2 Italy Ferrari 143
3 Germany BMW Sauber 86
4 France Renault 38
5 United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 25
6 Austria Red Bull-Renault 16
7 Japan Toyota 12
8 Japan Super Aguri-Honda 4
9 Japan Honda 2

Only points scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 '13. Italy 2007', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/italie.aspx, (Accessed 18/02/2020)
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 Robert Wilkins, 'Italy 2007: Alonso, Lewis give McLaren boost.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 09/09/2007), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/59825/1/italy-2007-alonso-lewis-give-mclaren-boost, (Accessed 18/02/2020)
  3. 3.0 3.1 'Appeal date is September 13', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 07/08/2007), https://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns19516.html, (Accessed 18/02/2020)
  4. Biranit Goren, 'FIA imposes no penalty on McLaren', autosport.com, (Haymarket Media, 26/07/2007), https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/61155/fia-imposes-no-penalty-on-mclaren, (Accessed 18/02/2020)
  5. 'Italy 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/italie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 18/02/2020)
  6. 'FORMULA 1™ Gran Premio d'Italia 2007 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/820/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/02/2020)
  7. 'Italy 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/italie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 18/02/2020)
V T E Italy Italian Grand Prix
Circuits Monza (1950 - 1979, 1981 - Present), Imola (1980)
Monza2000
Races 195019511952195319541955195619571958195919601961196219631964196519661967196819691970197119721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
European Championship Races 193119321935193619371938
Non-Championship Races 1921192219231924192519261927192819331934194719481949
V T E 2007 Formula One Season
Teams McLaren • Renault • Ferrari • Honda • BMW Sauber • Toyota • Red Bull • Williams • Toro Rosso • Spyker • Super Aguri
Engines BMW • Ferrari • Honda • Mercedes • Renault • Toyota
Drivers Alphabetically Albers • Alonso • Barrichello • Button • Coulthard • Davidson • Fisichella • Hamilton • Heidfeld • Kovalainen • Kubica • Liuzzi • Massa • Nakajima • Räikkönen • Rosberg • Sato • R. Schumacher • Speed • Sutil • Trulli • Vettel • Webber • Winkelhock • Wurz • Yamamoto
Drivers by Number Alonso • 2 Hamilton • 3 Fisichella • 4 Kovalainen • 5 Massa • 6 Räikkönen • 7 Button • 8 Barrichello • 9 Heidfeld • 10 Kubica • 10 Vettel • 11 R. Schumacher • 12 Trulli • 14 Coulthard • 15 Webber • 16 Rosberg • 17 Wurz • 17 Nakajima • 18 Liuzzi • 19 Speed • 19 Vettel • 20 Sutil • 21 Albers • 21 Winkelhock • 21 Yamamoto • 22 Sato • 23 Davidson
Other Drivers Badoer • De la Rosa • Doornbos • Fauzy • Gené • Glock • Karthikeyan • Klien • Kobayashi • Loeb • Montagny • Paffett • Piquet • Rossiter • M. Schumacher • Van der Garde • Zonta
Cars Ferrari F2007 • BMW Sauber F1.07 • Renault R27 • Williams FW29 • Red Bull RB3 • Toyota TF107 • Toro Rosso STR2 • Honda RA107 • Super Aguri SA07 • Spyker F8-VII • McLaren MP4-22
Tyres Bridgestone
Races Australia • Malaysia • Bahrain • Spain • Monaco • Canada • United States • France • Britain • Europe • Hungary • Turkey • Italy • Belgium • Japan • China • Brazil
See also 2006 Formula One Season • 2008 Formula One Season • Category
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