The Italian Grand Prix began in dramatic and controversial fashion as title rivals Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton collided on the first lap, the Mercedes driver recovered and slotted into second but the Ferrari spun around and was gobbled up by the chasing field, and then limped back to the pits.
The pair came together as they went into the second Variante side by side, with Hamilton on the right entering the chicane, exiting with the better inside line with Vettel beside him turning tightly to avoid the Mercedes and spinning in the process.
The incident prompted a safety car period, when the race resumed Hamilton briefly took the lead until Raikkonen took it back with a move that had the Tifosi on their feet.
In the end, Ferrari got their sums wrong in their home race and pitted Raikkonen too soon, as a result, he ran out of rubber when Hamilton attacked again, took the lead and victory with the Finn nursing his car home to take second.
Vettel, who recovered to finish fourth said, "I think you have more angles than I have but I tried to pass Kimi and he opened the brakes and I didn't have a gap. Lewis saw the gap round the outside but he didn't leave me any space."
"Then I was the one who spun around, which was ironic. It wasn't too peachy but I recovered and got a lot of points. It doesn't help when you lose points but it's not the end of the world. We will all still wake up tomorrow morning," mused Vettel.
Report in progress...
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