Lewis Hamilton cruised to victory in today’s Italian Grand Prix ahead of an equally impressive Sergio Perez as several big names were removed from the equation.

Hamilton took an early lead and drove a faultless race despite worries that his Mclaren may be harbouring a problem after the demise of the sister car driven by Jenson Button, who retired while chasing Hamilton for the lead.

Thumbs up from Lewis after a job well done

Red Bull also suffered a disastrous day as they failed to score points for the first time since the 2010 Korean Grand Prix, with alternator failure causing the demise of World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, while Mark Webber span his way into oblivion.

The race was also notable for a spectacular suspension failure for French driver Jean-Eric Vergne, who slid out of the race at almost two hundred miles an hour and was lucky to avoid injury despite an eye-watering short flight.

The win has elevated Hamilton to 2^nd in the championship, although Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso maintained his current hold on the championship with an impressive 3^rd place from 10^th on the grid.  However, the Spaniard did have to rely on team-mate Felipe Massa playing the perfect number two role which allowed the double world champion through for the last podium position. Both Ferrari’s however were brushed aside by the ever-impressive Mexican Sergio Perez, who ran a carefully judged strategy and was unlucky to run out of laps to catch Hamilton.

3rd and 4th place for Ferrari were good enough for the loyal Tifosi legions

Massa clung on for a superb and rather under-rewarded 4^th, while the late demise of the Red Bull duo ensured a subdued Kimi Raikkonen collected a healthy 10 point score that takes him into 3^rd place in the championship standings. Mercedes stable-mates Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg were similarly quiet but successful with a double points haul for the German team in 6^th and 7^th ahead of Britain’s Paul Di Resta who overcame the disappointment of his 5-place grid penalty to harvest more points for 8^th. Kamui Kobayashi and Bruno Senna rounded out the top ten and the minor points placings.

The victory is Mclaren’s third in a row and is a clear signal that the team, the favourite of many British fans, has overcome the dismal form shown during the early summer races – although speculation over Lewis Hamilton’s future continues to hang over the team. Hamilton thanked the mechanics for their effort, although such words may ring a little hollow in the ears of many team-members who resented the 2008 world champion’s Twitter-fuelled antics at Spa last weekend.

Things got heated between Paul Di Resta and Bruno Senna

Yet at Monza the problems of the last week were pushed to one side as Hamilton enjoyed a healthy dose of luck to come a little closer to his second Formula One world title – Jenson Button was unable to make it a Mclaren one-two after a botched pit stop and fuel feed problem denied him the chance of back-to-back wins, and consequently, his championship hopes have taken a nosedive thanks, yet again, to mechanical-induced retirement.

Seven Grand Prix to go, and the gods of racing seem to be casting their wicked hand of fate to ensure we witness a thrilling finale to the 2012 championship battle.

Next stop Singapore!

Anthony French