page_title: 2011 Italian Grand Prix
section_title: Race
hierarchical_section_title: 2011 Italian Grand Prix / Report / Race
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: M. Schumacher alla prima variante Monza 2011
context_page_description: The 2011 Italian Grand Prix, formally known as the 2011 Gran Premio Santander d'Italia, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 11 September 2011 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. It was the thirteenth round of the 2011 Formula One season and was also the sixtieth time the Italian Grand Prix had been held at Monza. The 53-lap race was won by Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel, the World Drivers' Championship leader, after he started from pole position. Jenson Button finished in second place for McLaren, and Fernando Alonso completed the podium in third position for Ferrari.
  As a consequence of the race, Vettel extended his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 112 points over Alonso, who moved up to second place in the championship. Button moved into third place in the championship, five points behind Alonso, and level on points with fourth-placed Mark Webber, but ahead on countback. In the World Constructors' Championship, Red Bull's championship lead was cut by McLaren to 126 points, with Ferrari a further 71 points behind in third position.
context_section_description: Fernando Alonso was the first driver into the first corner, having made the best start off the line from fourth. However, his lead was short-lived; further down the field, Vitantonio Liuzzi made contact with Heikki Kovalainen and slid off across the grass and directly into Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg. The three cars retired on the spot, while Rubens Barrichello escaped without terminal damage, but was forced to pit for a new front wing, ruining his race. The safety car was deployed as the debris was cleared up, and when racing resumed, Sebastian Vettel quickly claimed the lead from Alonso. Vettel would remain unchallenged for the rest of the race, claiming his eighteenth victory. Meanwhile, Jérôme d'Ambrosio retired on the first lap with a gearbox problem.
  Further down the grid, Lewis Hamilton was caught unawares by the restart and was quickly passed by Michael Schumacher, whilst Mark Webber challenged Felipe Massa for sixth place going into the first chicane. The two made contact and Massa was spun around, but was able to continue racing; for his part, Webber tried to limp back to the pits with a broken front wing, but crashed out at the Parabolica, recording Red Bull Racing's first retirement of the season. Adrian Sutil joined the growing list of retirements several laps later with hydraulic problems, pulling his Force India VJM04 over at the Ascari chicane.
  As Vettel and Alonso increased their leads, Hamilton began to threaten Schumacher for third. Schumacher was warned over the radio several times for blocking by team principal Ross Brawn; Schumacher was taking a defensive line going into the Ascari chicane before cutting back over to the racing line. The battle with Hamilton slowed both drivers down enough that fifth-placed Jenson Button could catch up to them, and things came to a head when Schumacher cut Hamilton off at the Curva Grande and forcing him onto the grass on the inside of the corner. As Hamilton backed off, Button was able to pass him. Where Hamilton's fight with Schumacher would last thirty laps, Button passed the Mercedes driver on his first attempt, leaving him free to pursue Alonso. Hamilton claimed fourth from Schumacher when the German made his first scheduled stop.
  The Sauber C30s of Kamui Kobayashi and seventh-placed Sergio Pérez retired with near-identical gearbox problems, reducing the field to just fifteen drivers plus Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo's car had gone into anti-stall on the grid before failing to engage a gear. The car was immediately returned to the pits while repairs were carried out, and although Ricciardo returned to the circuit, he was some eight laps behind the last-placed Timo Glock at the time of Pérez's retirement. Ricciardo would ultimately finish the race fourteen laps behind race winner Vettel, and was therefore not classified as a finisher as he had failed to complete 90% of the winner's race distance. With just fifteen drivers on the track, the Team Lotus drivers of Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli were able to secure 13th and 14th place, further reinforcing the team's claim to tenth in the World Constructors' Championship.
  Vettel went on to win the race by 9.5 seconds from Jenson Button, who had caught and passed Alonso with less than ten laps to go. Once freed from behind Schumacher's Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton started catching Alonso at a rate that meant the 2008 World Champion would only be able to pass his former teammate on the last lap. Ultimately, it was not to be; Alonso completed the podium, crossing the finish line half a second ahead of Hamilton. Jenson Button scored his third consecutive second-place finish and fourth podium at Monza. After finishing fifth in Belgium, Schumacher repeated his performance with another fifth place, in front of Massa, whose race had largely been ruined by the early contact with Webber. Jaime Alguersuari scored a career-best finish with seventh place, ahead of Paul di Resta. The four points di Resta earned for eighth place, plus the double retirement of the Saubers helped elevate Force India to sixth in the constructors' st
caption: Michael Schumacher finished fifth, having held Lewis Hamilton behind him for the majority of the race.
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