Sebastian Vettel wins Italian Grand Prix

The Red Bull star now heads the Formula One world championship table by 112 points — a lead which means he almost certainly will not be caught. Vettel had to overcome a slack start to reclaim the lead from Fernando Alonso, who eventually finished third behind second-placed Jenson Button. Lewis Hamilton won a breathtaking personal battle with Michael Schumacher but could only take fourth spot ahead of the German. Felipe Massa took sixth despite a smash with Mark Webber early in the race while Jaime Alguersuari and Brit Paul di Resta completed the top eight. Vettel began the race on pole but lost out to Alonso on the first corner with Hamilton and Schumacher following. The front-runners avoided a huge smash as Vitantonio Liuzzi's HRT car span and flew sideways into the pack. That ended Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg's race just seconds after the start while damage to Daniel Ricciardo's car ended his hopes soon after. Jerome d'Ambrosio was next out before Webber's collision with Massa resulted in the Red Bull driver losing his front wing. Webber continued racing but with no downforce he soon ended up flying off the track before ploughing into a wall. At the front, Vettel regained the No1 spot from Alonso on lap five with a 200mph pass on the outside before surging ahead. Behind the leading pair, Button passed both Hamilton and Schumacher with the duo then ensuing in a fascinating battle for fourth. The German pushed the boundries of racing as he fought off Hamilton's charge but eventually yielded on lap 28. Button, after shaking off the attentions of Schuey, set about closing down Alonso. The Brit ace passed the Spaniard with ease on lap 36 with Alonso struggling for traction. At one stage, even Hamilton looked like he could challenge the Ferrari for the final podium place but Alonso held him off on the final lap. Predictably, it was Vettel's day once again day with him taking the chequered flag by a comfortable margin of 9.59 seconds over Alonso.