This week’s power rankings were a little more difficult to put together than usual. Hamilton and Grosjean wrecking five cars at the start of the race and completely changing the complexion of the Belgian Grand Prix makes it hard to figure out who are the hottest drivers coming out of F1’s summer break. However, based on qualifying and the 11 races that preceded Belgium, we have another ranking of the hottest drivers in F1 right now. With such a compressed end to the season, momentum is critical to a driver’s chances for the championship. The question is: Who has the momentum?

#1 Fernando Alonso (Last Race #1)
Alonso stays atop the power rankings this week. He may not have had the fastest car in Spa but he’s doing more with what he has under him than any other driver on the grid. Perhaps the biggest reason why he’s on top of the power rankings this week is because this weekend’s race is in Italy. If there’s one race that Ferrari will push extra hard to win, it’s the Italian Grand Prix. The extra motivation provided by the tifosi will make Alonso and Ferrari hard to beat. A podium is a near certainty… Unless Hamilton runs in to the back of him again.

#2 Kimi Raikkonen (LR #2)
As I pointed out in my Belgian Grand Prix recap, the Iceman is on a three-race podium streak which brings him to six podium finishes this season. That puts him level with Fernando Alonso for most podiums this season. I can understand why Ferrari would dump him for Alonso but given the choice between Massa and Kimi… Right now, the driver not named Alonso who is driving the best is named Raikkonen. I wonder how he’d do driving the Ferrari F2013…

#3 Sebastian Vettel (LR #3)
I hope no one forgot that Vettel scored his first win at Monza in a Toro Rosso. I don’t think anyone could be unhappy that the former Minardi team won a race: “Monza is the home of motorsport and being there gives me goose bumps. It has the best podium in the world and a win there is an unforgettable experience. If you stand up there like I did for the first time in 2008, and again last year, you are overwhelmed by the fans, the thousands of Tifosi that flood the track with their flags waving. It’s just amazing.”

#4 Jenson Button (LR #7)
I love how Jenson has no idea why he gets a good car at Monza. Heavily involved in the technical side, Jenson is: “For some reason, the car we’ve brought to Monza in the last two seasons has been really well suited to me. I’ve really been able to work with the balance and enjoyed pushing the car. The success we had with a low-downforce configuration at Spa also gives us cause for optimism.”

#5 Mark Webber (LR #5)
Nothing of note in Webber’s pre-race quotage. At some point, someone in F1 is going to release a joke pre-race press release saying that Mark actually doesn’t care what goes on here while Seb writes three pages whittled down to four sentences: “So we head to the last European race of the season. Monza is a sensational venue with lots of history – it’s a beautiful amphitheatre. There’s a massive influence from the Tifosi there – especially with the attending Ferrari fans, which really adds atmosphere to the weekend.”

#6 Lewis Hamilton (LR #4)
Damn. I was hoping Old Louise Hamilton would talk about Spa so I could go on that blocking at the start diatribe again: “The first laps out of the pits on Friday always feels incredible because we have such little downforce and the ratios are so long. It feels like you never stop accelerating – and then you hit the brakes and the car feels really unstable, because the wings aren’t doing much to keep it settled. You soon get used to it, but it’s always exciting to be driving flat-out around Monza because it’s such a different experience from anywhere else we visit.”

#7 Michael Schumacher (LR #8)
Old Seven-Time waxes poetic about his time with Ferrari and relationship with the tifosi: “When I think of Monza, I immediately see everything through a red veil. It is the beating racing heart of Italy, everything there lives and breathes Ferrari, and I must inevitably think of the good times I spent there. What makes me particularly happy is that after all these years, the tifosi still welcome me so warmly, and I would like to thank them for that.”

#8 Felipe Massa (LR #10)
Pirelli Motorsport boss Paul Hembry talks about what he expects this weekend at Monza: “Monza is one of the most demanding circuits that we visit all year due to the high speed and significant lateral loads on the tyres. After Spa, it is the second-highest set of forces that our tyres will experience all year… Ambient temperatures can be very high in Italy, which places further demands on the tyres, so we would normally expect two pit stops.”

#9 Nico Hulkenberg (LR #14)

#10 Nico Rosberg (LR #9)
Keke’s kid isn’t happy with his car right now: “After a difficult weekend in Spa, I believe that our car will be much better suited to the amazing and high-speed Monza track… We are continuing to work hard on improving our car, and I’m quite positive about the news that I hear from the factory, although we know that it will be a tough job with all of the other teams developing quickly as well.”

#11 Kamui Kobayashi (LR #12)
We always hear about the importance of a low drag car at Monza but Kobayashi Maru explains that low drag and low downforce aren’t the whole package at Monza: “In Monza we shall have very low downforce and high speed, so it will be very important to have mechanical grip as well. There will be a lot of kerb riding, and this means good mechanical grip compensating the downforce level will be key.”

#12 Paul di Resta (LR #15)

#13 Bruno Senna (LR #11)
Bruno thinks he knows something about the Renault engine I don’t. I still think that Ferrari and Merc engines are the way to go: “While we didn’t finish in the points the car showed good pace at Spa, particularly on the long straights, so the signs are looking good heading into Monza. It’s a very fast circuit and is a real old fashioned test for the driver’s so I’m looking forward to the race.”

#14 Sergio Perez (LR #13)
Checo feels good about the team’s chances this weekend after last weekend’s qualifying performance: “I always enjoy the atmosphere in Italy, and the Tifosi are just great. The circuit is obviously a true high-speed track and I have a lot of faith in our low downforce package which we have in place. Also when I look at our performance in Spa, which is also a fast track, the C31 should be strong at the Italian Grand Prix.”

#15 Jerome d’Ambrosio (First Race)
It might seem a little odd to have one of the best cars on the grid down this far in the order but it is d’Ambrosio’s first race of the year so call it an inexperience adjustment: “It’s a massive challenge, especially because I’ve not driven much this year and Monza is a unique low downforce track. But I don’t want to focus on what will be hard or difficult. I just want to focus on what I can achieve. It will be challenging but I am already part of the team, I know everyone and I will have great support from them to do the best I can. I will be focussed 100% to make full use of free practice because that could be the key for me this weekend.”

#16 Daniel Ricciardo (LR #17)

#17 Jean-Eric Vergne (LR #18)

#18 Pastor Maldonado  (LR #16)
Did you know that Pastor has finished ahead of both Toro Rossos only twice in the seven races since he won: “It’s the quickest track we visit all season and requires a very particular set up with a completely different aero package. The car has low down force levels at Monza so we will have to adapt to that setup. The track itself is a challenging one for drivers and has quite a few overtaking opportunities so it should be an exciting weekend for the fans.”

#19 Heikki Kovalainen (LR #19)

#20 Vitaly Petrov (LR #20)

#21 Timo Glock (LR #21)
I like how Tim O’Glock is realistic about the team’s chances this weekend: “We do need to keep our expectations in check though as Monza is a completely different challenge due to the low downforce set-up required and realistically we did not look too strong in Canada, which calls for the same type of set-up. We have moved forward in a number of ways as a team and, for example, the fantastic pitstops in Spa also contributed to our strong showing there, so there are some things we can do this weekend to try to make the race work better for us.”

#22 Charles Pic (LR #22)
Chuckie also realises that the Marussia’s low downforce package isn’t the best on the grid: “The team are working well together and we have a good momentum. I think we have to wait and see just how much of that performance we can carry over in Monza though, as the circuit and the demands upon the car are completely different. Much like Montreal, the low downforce characteristics are less well-suited to our car and we know that.”

#23 Pedro de la Rosa (LR #23)
Pedro says that Monza is unlike any other circuit immediately after comparing it to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Makes perfect sense: “Monza is a similar circuit to Canada, where maximum speed and brake stability are important; and these are our strengths. I love consecutive races because I like continuity and, besides, Monza is one of my favourite circuits because it’s very different to the rest.”

#24 Narain Karthikeyan (LR #24)
Well, it makes sense that HRT would bring a special low drag wing to this race. They already have a low downforce wing they run every other weekend: “Monza is a circuit that I really like and an interesting track for us. We’re bringing a specific package for this event, with a low drag wing which we hope will help us to have a good performance… I hope not to run into bad luck at this grand prix and to be able to convert a good performance into a positive result.”