Formula One / David Croft / 12 September 2008 /

It's raining in Monza and the forecast is for further downpour over the weekend. That may suit Mclaren and Lewis Hamilton but Kimi Raikkonen's return to form and new contract could spur him on to make a significant challenge, says a sodden David Croft.

Well that's the first time that rain has stopped play inside the BBC Radio 5-live commentary box. With conditions resembling a biblical flood and rumours of teams building an arc rather than adjust the set up of their car my co-commentator and I were forced to bail out of our broadcast this morning with 10 minutes remaining and seek a drier sanctuary. The pool of water that was forming on the floor was starting to wash over our kit and the fuse box was getting wetter by the second, this wasn't a time to hang around.

Outside the rain was so heavy that the garages were starting to flood whilst action on the track had long since stopped leaving Adrian Sutil as the fastest man in the morning practice session as he enjoyed the benefits of running early on whilst the track was still relatively dry.

Luckily the afternoon session brought us more serious action with the cars finally able to use their dry tyres midway through. Looking at the weather forecast for the weekend ahead I fear that the wet tyres may have to come out again, the prediction is for more rain on both Saturday and Sunday.

Which, as it did at Spa, could have serious implications for the leading contenders. We saw in Belgium that as soon as it started to rain the Ferrari struggled in comparison to the Mclaren. Here in Monza the track temperature will be higher but it could still be low enough to give Ferrari problems with tyre temperature.

If that's the case then it may be better to side with Mclaren this weekend both for qualifying and the race with Lewis Hamilton, even more determined to hit back with a win after his stewards penalty in Belgium, available at [2.9] to win qualifying with Betfair and [2.82] to win the race.

What we did see in Belgium was Kimi Raikkonen back at his best. Leading for the first time since the French Grand Prix, the Finn gave a master class around the Ardennes Forest up until his final stint on the hard tyres. That's when the temperature problems first became apparent and from his final pit stop onwards Lewis Hamilton was able to chase down the lead. This weekend Raikkonen has also signed 2 year an extension to his contract with the Italian team, who says he was losing his appetite for racing. Will that news, coupled with his performance at Spa, urge him onto another good performance? Given that this track is one for the brave at the best of times he might have the edge over his teammate this weekend. Massa struggled at times in the wet morning session leaving Raikkonen's price of [5.1] for the race, more appealing than Massa at [3.3]

Looking onboard with Jenson Button this morning it became clear as to just why he's still considered one of the best drivers in the wet. His precision around the lap, albeit at a slower pace, was obvious as his car caressed the kerbs through the chicanes, rarely running onto the white lines as he kept the car on the perfect lap. Should he avoid trouble at the start and gain a respectable lap in qualifying to lift him into at least Q2 for the first time in three races, Jenson is well worth a punt in the points market. The Honda driver is priced at [6.0] to finish in the top 8 and although his first ever race at Monza ended with a spin behind the safety car, he's scored points every time he's finished the Italian Grand Prix since.

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