Sebastian Vettel furious after controversial Lewis Hamilton incident - On This Day

Eight years ago today, on 2 September 2018, Lewis Hamilton silenced the Tifosi at Monza with a masterclass in patience and strategy to win the Italian Grand Prix, a race that will forever be remembered for a dramatic first-lap collision with Sebastian Vettel that reshaped the championship battle.

Ferrari had locked out the front row, with Kimi Räikkönen on pole and Vettel alongside him in second. Hamilton started third. It was supposed to be Ferrari's day. The home crowd expected nothing less.

Into Turn 1, the top three held station. But through Curva Grande, Hamilton used Vettel's slipstream to pull alongside the German heading into the second chicane at Variante della Roggia. Hamilton went around the outside; Vettel held the inside. 

As the pair changed direction through the left-right sequence, Vettel's right front caught the side of Hamilton's Mercedes, spinning the Ferrari around and damaging its front wing. Hamilton continued largely unscathed. Vettel limped back to the pits and rejoined near the back of the field.

The stewards investigated and deemed it a racing incident, with no penalty issued to either driver.

"It worked! I think it was a racing move… I left him space. I was still on track," Hamilton said afterwards.

Vettel's frustration

What followed was a strategic battle for the ages. Räikkönen led from Hamilton after the safety car restart, but Mercedes played their cards expertly, using Valtteri Bottas as a buffer to hold up the Finn after his pit stop. 

Hamilton stayed out longer, pitted for fresher tyres, and eventually hunted down Räikkönen with around nine laps remaining, making a decisive pass into Turn 1.

For Vettel, a recovery drive from last to fourth was respectable, aided by a five-second penalty for Max Verstappen following a late collision with Bottas. But it was a bitter consolation. 

Ferrari had started first and second at their home race and left with Hamilton extending his championship lead.

Vettel made little effort to hide his frustration. "What can you do when you get spun around?" he said, clearly unhappy with how the weekend had unravelled. Reports also suggested he was dissatisfied with elements of Ferrari's operational approach across the weekend, though he kept those grievances largely behind closed doors.

For Hamilton, the now seven-time world champion, Monza 2018 proved a turning point in his march towards a fifth title. For Vettel and Ferrari, it was one more wound in a campaign that promised so much but slowly, painfully, slipped away.