Alonso Scores Ferrari Home Win at Monza

The technical battle between Fernando Alonso – who kept open his Drivers Championship hopes – and Jenson Button provided the entertainment at Monza as the Spaniard’s set-up prevailed. Monza is renowned for its high speeds, but despite some blistering, tyre manufacturer Bridgestone waved goodbye to European Formula One with typically resilient performance. Alonso used a soft-hard tyre strategy to beat Button who took the lead from the pole-positioned Ferrari at the start of the race. Alonso retook the lead in the pit stops to lead the reigning champion across the finish line by 2.9 seconds. Ferrari’s other driver Felipe Massa finished third, 1.2 seconds behind Button.

Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of Motorsport Tyre Development, commented: “We saw a good range of strategy options today in a very exciting race and I am happy that our tyres performed so strongly to allow good racing throughout the field. Watching the battle between the different set-ups of Jenson and Fernando was fascinating and both drivers drove impeccably. Seeing Sebastian [Vettel] run until the last lap on the same soft option tyres with which he qualified illustrates the strength and performance of our tyres at this high-speed racing venue. We are proud of the safety of our tyres even when faced with a tough test such as this. We did see some minor blistering on some tyres today, but nothing to cause concern or affect performance. Thank you Monza for a great race.”

Hiroshi Yasukawa, director of Bridgestone Motorsport, extended his gratitude to Monza: “Congratulations to Ferrari and Fernando Alonso for a great win. This is a great result for the championship in the final Grand Prix in Europe for Bridgestone. So many Bridgestone guests and personnel were here to enjoy a superb Grand Prix and we were happy to see the Bridgestone branding on the track basking in glorious sunshine and beamed around the world today. I would like to thank all the Italian fans and the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza for so many great times for us over the years at this fantastic motorsport venue.”

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