What a difference a week makes in Formula One.
Last Sunday, Romain Grosjean took out Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso during the opening lap at Spa in Belgium and was promptly ejected from yesterday's Italian Grand Prix for his sins. Whereupon, that aforementioned triumvirate finished together on the podium in Monza and, in so doing, turned the whole season on its head.
Anybody who doubted the capacity of F1 to thrill, surprise and entertain, would have been silenced by this latest race, which had everything, from controversy, crashes and contrasting styles to the unfamiliar sight of neither Red Bull reaching the chequered flag.
There was an effortlessly mercurial performance from Hamilton, who transcended the deluge of speculation about his future to register his third victory of the campaign; a storming display by Perez, the 22-year-old Mexican maestro from Guadalajara, who demonstrated his abundant potential by surging through the field from 12th on the grid to second; and another pragmatic showing from Alonso, whose Ferrari lacked the pace of many of his rivals, but who nursed it to third to maintain his lead – albeit reduced to 37 points – over Hamilton.
For good measure, there was also a dollop of animosity, following a battle royal and eventual collision between Sebastian Vettel and Alonso, which saw the former incur a drive-through penalty as the precursor to his car grinding to a halt. And Mark Webber, in the other Red Bull, maintained his recent miserable form and declared afterwards: "I had no rear tyres left – it was a poor day for us all round."
That was undeniable; while the McLarens have soared to success in the last three GPs, their opponents have struggled and although Vettel is only two points adrift of Hamilton, the momentum is all with the English competitor, who divides opinion like Marmite and the talking meerkats.
Many key questions remain unanswered, whether in discussing the next moves of Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher and Perez, or in examining what 2013 and beyond holds for Paul Di Resta, who regained some semblance of his best form in registering eighth, which steered him back in front of his Force India team-mate, Nico Hulkenberg.
It has been a strange year for the Scot, encompassing occasional fillips, and more frequent frustration, and he must be aware by now that he needs to move elsewhere to be in with a chance of challenging for major honours.
But where? If Massa is replaced at Maranello, it is likely to be by Perez, who has done a superb job at Sauber and has the gifts to become a legend. If Schumacher exits Mercedes, Di Resta could be the beneficiary, although Hamilton, surprisingly in the circumstances, is still widely viewed as the favourite to replace the German. "It has been fantastic to win here and I am just so happy for the team," said Hamilton.
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