Vettel ends Renault's 16-year losing streak in Italy

Sebastian Vettel ended a 16-year winless run for Renault-engined cars at Monza thanks to his commanding performance in last weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

Not since Johnny Herbert's 1995 victory in a Renault-powered Benetton had the French manufacturer tasted success at Monza, while Jean Alesi in 1997 was the most recent driver to start a grand prix from pole position with such an engine at the track.

The German's win also went some way to erasing the Monza curse from Red Bull's history. Prior to last weekend the team had never had a pole, a win, a podium, or even a lap in front at the circuit. Vettel overturned all four statistics emphatically.

Vettel's pole was his 25th in Formula 1 from just 75 starts - making it one every three races. His victory was the 18th of his grand prix career, putting him equal 13th in the all-time list with Kimi Raikkonen. His 31st career podium equalled Jack Brabham in 28th spot.

Monza race notes

• Red Bull's Monza victory was its 23rd in F1, equalling Tyrrell at eighth spot in the all-time list, while the Italian GP also marked the 40th grand prix at which one of its cars finished on the podium.

• Ferrari claimed its 650th world championship podium finish at Monza, courtesy of Fernando Alonso, who took his own 70th.

Five different manufacturers have won at Monza in the last five years, starting with McLaren in 2007 and continuing with Toro Rosso, Brawn, Ferrari and Red Bull.

• Mark Webber's retirement in Italy ended Red Bull's run as the only manufacturer to have completed every lap of the season with both cars. It was the first time in 14 races - a run that began in Brazil last year - that the team did not score double points.

• Webber's retirement in Italy was only his third in the last two years of grand prix racing (the others coming at Valencia and Yeongam last year). All three were as a result of accidents, while his last mechanical failure came in Singapore exactly two years ago (brake failure). Prior to Italy, Webber had finished between second and fifth at every race.

• Jenson Button has finished second for the past three years at Monza. Only two other drivers have taken the runner-up spot in Italy as many times without winning. They are Richie Ginther in 1960, '62 and '63 and Alesi in 1993, '96 and '97.

• Michael Schumacher's fifth place for Mercedes equalled what he managed on his first grand prix appearance at Monza in 1991 for Benetton.

• At the same track where he started last two years ago, Jaime Alguersuari took the best result of his F1 career with seventh at Monza. It was the first time in Toro Rosso history that both cars scored points in the team's home race. For the seventh race in a row, a driver - in this case Alguersuari - scored despite being knocked out in Q1.

Senna recovered to take his first points © sutton-images.com

• Bruno Senna claimed his maiden F1 points finish in ninth spot for Renault.

• Monza provided Sauber with its first double retirement since last year's Canadian Grand Prix.

• After 10 straight finishes, Virgin's Jerome D'Ambrosio failed to make the chequered flag in Italy.

• For the first time since the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg retired on the opening lap of an F1 race.

• For the 55th race in succession, a Renault-engined car scored points, equalling Ferrari's Malaysia 1999-Malaysia 2003 run. The extension of the points-paying positions down to 10th however, makes this run less impressive, and the manufacturer itself only counts the result as its 35th in succession. Ford holds the record with an astonishing 228 races - all when points were only awarded to the top six finishers.

• Oddly for Monza, straight-line speed was not important this year. Winner Vettel was at the bottom of the speed trap figures in every session, with only first-lap retirees slower in the race. As an example, Senna's Renault was 12.7mph faster during the race with the same engine.

Monza qualifying notes

• Vettel's pole was his 10th of the season, equalling the number he managed last year. Only six times in F1 history has a driver started from pole on more occasions during a season, the record being Nigel Mansell's 14 in 1992.

• Lewis Hamilton started from the rear of the front row for the fourth straight race.

• Sauber's 15th and 17th places on the grid represented its worst in the Italian Grand Prix in the team's history. It had been 15th and 16th in 2000.

• For the first time Daniel Ricciardo outqualified his team-mate Vitantonio Liuzzi. It was the first time since the 2006 French Grand Prix that Liuzzi had started last.