F1: 2011 Italian GP at last shows what Formula One is for

The result (and the official F1 media statement) suggests that Sebastian Vettel cruised away from the field. It's not true: he drove a masterly race but his 15 second lead over second place Jenson Button was due to hard work: so hard that Vettel, usually the most chipper of drivers, dragged himself from his car and omitted his customary leap on the nose. There were non of his usual gesticulations. He was, simply, drained.

At the beginning, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso did a demon start, racing into the lead. A horrible first-corner crash brought out the safety car until lap four and then, possibly because the Ferrari does not retain the heat in its tyres at slow speeds (which, at high speed, improves their tyre wear) Vettel drove around the outside of the Ferrari.

But it would be false to say that Vettel never looked back: his mirrors were full of cars. Alonso stayed glued behind him and the weekend's miracle drive from Michael Schumacher saw the veteran chasing the Ferrari. Hamilton hunted down Schumacher and Button, whose start went badly wrong, dragged himself up from seventh to right behind Hamilton.

At one point, all five world champions were within three seconds. Not three seconds of each other, three seconds from first to fifth.

Schumacher's pace began to drop: the Mercedes was fast on the straights but slow in corners. Schumacher's response to Hamilton's repeated pressure was to weave. As McLaren protested, the FIA told Mercedes to tell Schumacher to behave. Ross Brawn sent a coded message to leave space outside Ascari: but that was not the only place Schumacher was blocking. Once he got the message, Schumacher stopped weaving but held his car on the racing line - legally - making sure that Hamilton would not find an easy way around.

Button sat waiting to pick up the pieces and, as Hamilton slid wide and Schumacher's tyres went off, Button picked up two places. It took Button until lap 36 to catch Alonso, and Hamilton until lap 27 to pass Schumacher, by which time Button was too far up the road.

Webber lost his front wing in a careless shunt and then, totally lacking any front downforce, his car lifted the front end and went straight on into the barrier at Parabolica.

But it was the actual racing that marked out this event. Simply, after Button's amazing car control at Spa, to see so many cars defying physics and being driven so well is an outstanding privilege.

In two weeks, it's the Singapore Grand Prix. The totally different nature of the climate and the street circuit will ask some serious questions, not least of those cars that were able to use minimum downforce at Monza in part because the relatively smooth track and high-speeds meant that downforce came from the main bodywork. That's not the case in the point-and-squirt, sea level, high-humidity Singapore event.

No one is betting against Red Bull nor against Vettel winning. Depending on how his rivals do, Vettel may be crowned Champion under the lights of the Lion City.