German and Italian anthems are back

Record-breaker Sebastian Vettel called his maiden Formula One victory "the best day of his life" after dominating the Italian Grand Prix. The 21-year-old became the youngest race winner in the sport's history with a drive of speed and skill in treacherous conditions at a rain-lashed Monza.

Starting from pole position but behind the safety car, the Toro Rosso man stretched out an early lead and never looked back, winning by 12.5 seconds from McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen, with BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica in third.

Vettel put his pace down to a dry-weather set-up on his car, which allowed him to be quick when the rain relented later on. And the German made his second pit stop at exactly the right time, switching from wet-weather tires to intermediates for the rest of the race.

While the usually chirpy Kovalainen was subdued, Kubica was satisfied with turning 11th on the grid into six world championship points.

In the championship fight, Ferrari's Felipe Massa could only manage sixth, one place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, whose drive from 15th on the grid to seventh in his McLaren was a race highlight. Hamilton now leads Massa in the standings by one point with four races -- and an appeal over his Belgian GP result -- to go.

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pic 1: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008
pic 2: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008

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pic 1: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008
pic 2: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008

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pic 1: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008
pic 2: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008

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pic 1: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008
pic 2: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008

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pic 1: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008
pic 2: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008

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pic 1: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008
pic 2: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008

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pic 1: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008
pic 2: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008

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pic 1: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008
pic 2: Italian GP, Monza circuit, Formula 1, 2008