While everyone thought that Monza was going to be the location for yet another Mercedes “tour de force”, as the race approached the checkered flag, uncertainly began to set on teams and spectators alike – **Spoiler Alert**.

As the race got going, you wouldn’t have been blamed for thinking that what should be a celebration for the Scuderia, would turn into a horror show, as Kimi Raikkonen went from 2nd on the grid to last before even reaching the first turn.

He later described that his car went into anti-stall and wouldn’t move at all, while everyone else was speeding towards that heavy braking zone.

Hamilton got off to yet another mediocre start, but held Vettel off when reaching T1. After that, it was smooth sailing all the way to the last couple of laps when things took a turn for the dramatic as his teammate Nico Rosberg had to abandon the race after a coolant pipe fractured. On top of that, Lewis got a call from his race engineer telling him that it’s “Hammer Time” out of the blue.

That’s not something you hear every day as you’re coasting towards the finish line. But the crew urged him to build up a 25-second lead in case they were to be slapped with a 25-second penalty for having one tire 0.3 psi below the mandated 19.5 psi safety limit.

It was just a precautionary measure, yet it really made things suspenseful as nobody seemed to know what was happening.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel came in 2nd, saying that on an emotional level, this was the best result of his career. Raikkonen ran an amazing race finishing P5, after basically starting the Grand Prix at the back of the grid.

In third came Williams’ Felipe Massa who once again showed great pace, while holding off his teammate Valtteri Bottas (P4) during the final three laps.

Force India flexed their Mercedes muscle in Italy, as Perez and Hulkenberg finished P6 and P7 respectively, while the two Renault-powered Red Bulls also scored points, with Ricciardo P8 and Kvyat P10.

10 Random Things We’ve Noticed

– That whole Lewis Hamilton fiasco at the end was really fascinating, as his team radio orders stated that he should just put the pedal to the metal and not ask any questions. At first I thought his engineer was being a bit cheeky in phrasing it that way, but Lewis complied right away despite telling them that “it wasn’t cool” after crossing the finish line.

– Is it all over for Nico Rosberg? He’s not just trailing Hamilton by 53 points now, but he’s also ahead of Vettel by just 21 points!

– Despite holding off his teammate during the final three laps of the race, Felipe Massa also benefited from Bottas struggling with his engine – otherwise, the result might have been different.

– Sorry Honda, but what are you talking about? Are you really 25 HP ahead of Renault? Is that why they were passing you with ease in a straight line? Sure, power delivery isn’t just about the petrol unit anymore, but still, at least stop talking about it.

– Really solid GP from Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson. He drove very consistently and his C34 showed good pace at Monza. We could argue that he deserved more than just a P9 finish. But still, it’s in the points!

– Back to McLaren for a second…Alonso didn’t even finish the race because of electric issues. Button was in the points at certain moments, but was swiftly overtaken by even those less powerful Renault-powered car. Also, they reverted to the nose-unit they used at the start of the season in order to be more aerodynamic at high speed, though not even that seemed to work. They’ll be back to their new shorter noses in Singapore however.

– Toro Rosso might have had a much better result if Carlos Sainz hadn’t gotten himself a 5-second penalty for gaining an advantage after leaving the track. Verstappen also had to do a drive-through because he was released from the pits with loose bodywork during qualifying.

– Lotus had to retire both cars on the opening lap because of suspension damage, which is a real shame since both Grosjean and Maldonado looked really quick during Saturday’s qualifying session. Still, both cars out on lap one? That’s a major kick to the stomach.

– Red Bull once again proved that the RB11’s chassis is simply spectacular. While the Renault unit was of little help on the straights, the car was still fantastic and allowed Ricciardo and Kvyat to finish in the points despite having to start at the back of the grid. These guys are going to be OK in 2016.

– Force India has finally left Lotus behind in the constructors standings, where now they have 63 points to Lotus’ 50. There’s still no way they’ll grab 4th place away from Red Bull, but being F1’s fifth best team does have a nice ring to it.

Monza Race Results

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
3. Felipe Massa, Williams
4. Valtteri Bottas, Williams
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
6. Sergio Perez, Force India
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
8. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
9. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
10. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull
11. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso
12. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso
13. Felipe Nasr, Sauber
14. Jenson Button, McLaren
15. Will Stevens, Marussia
16. Roberto Merhi, Marussia