14:03 All the cars are back on the grid and ready to go ...

14:02 Hamilton wasting no time on the formation lap, clearly his tyres aren't in need of much temperature and he wants to keep the pressures as low as possible.

14:00 The formation lap is underway, all 22 cars made it away from the grid.

13:58 Outside the top ten Massa, Wehrlein, Sainz, Grosjean, Nasr, Ericsson and Palmer are on softs, Ocon is on mediums and the rest are on super-softs. Massa should be in a strong position as he starts 11th but with plenty of fresh tyres and a quick car underneath him.

13:56 As for Ferrari strategy, they can attempt the two-stopper as they are starting on super-softs, but it's worth noting that Vettel has an advantage as he saved an extra set of fresh super-softs from qualifying and Raikkonen's three sets all have at least three laps on them.

13:54 All the cars are now present and correct on the grid. In five minutes time they will be heading off on their formation lap.

13:49 Both Hamilton and Rosberg will start on used softs and have one set of new mediums, two sets of used softs, one set of new super-softs and one set of used super-softs. Plenty of potions for both, but I suspect they will pick the second option listed below.

13:45 Here are the three best strategies according to Pirelli.

QUICKEST: Two-stopper: 2 stints on supersoft of 17 laps each + one 19-lap stint on soft

SECOND-QUICKEST: One-stopper: 1 stint on soft of 28 laps each + one 25-lap stint on medium

THIRD-QUICKEST: One-stopper: 1 16-lap stint on supersoft + one 37-lap stint on medium

13:40 I can't see Ferrari getting close to the Mercedes, but they will be very disappointed if they don't leave with a podium here. However, they are starting on the super-softs and the Mercedes are on the softs, so that could offer a marginal advantage away from the start.

13:38 Hamilton has looked comfortably quicker than Rosberg this weekend, so unless Rosberg has been saving something very special for the race, this is Hamilton's to lose.

13:36 The run down to Turn 1 is going to be crucial today, with both Mercedes expected to opt for a one-stop and overtaking difficult around here unless you have an advantage of around a second per lap over the car in front.

13:30 Hello and welcome to ESPN's live coverage of the 2016 Italian Grand Prix. The pit lane is now open and the cars are heading to the grid.

Lap 1

Hamilton makes an awful start as Rosberg takes the lead from a very fast-starting Vettel into Turn 1.

Vettel takes a look at the second chicane, but Rosberg has him covered. Hamilton is down in sixth behind Ricciardo.

Bottas up to fourth and Verstappen has also made a shocker dropping to 11th.

Lap 2

Hamilton attempts to pass Ricciardo into Turn 1, but the Red Bull is better under braking. However, Ricciardo is now off line coming out of the chicane and Hamilton lines him up through the Curva Grande to pass into the second chicane.

Nasr is out after a collision with Palmer exiting the first chicane.

Lap 3

Nasr and Palmer clipped wheels on the exit, sending Nasr off into the grass as the Renault continued minus a front wing. Palmer in the pits now.

Rosberg leads by 1.5s from Vettel who has a 0.850s lead over Raikkonen.

Hamilton closing on Bottas for fourth through the Parabolica.

Lap 4

Updated Mercedes engine versus non-updated Mercedes engine in the Williams, but it's not enough for Hamilton to try a move on Bottas into the first chicane.

A replay of the start shows Hamilton reacted to the lights well but juts bogged down immediately. Not the first time we've seen a Mercedes struggle from pole this year, with so much more down to the driver under the current clutch and start regulations.

Lap 5

Rosberg extends his lead to 1.7s over Vettel. Raikkonen keeping within a second of his teammate and Bottas 1.4s off the second Ferrari.

Hamilton is sitting a second off Bottas. Of all the cars to get stuck behind at Monza, the Williams is arguably the worst as it's very slippery and quick in a straight line.

Lap 6

Radio Raikkonen: "I have quite a big vibration under braking"

Alonso has made his way up to ninth ahead of Verstappen. Hulkenberg has lost out somewhere in the opening laps.

Lap 7

More Radio Raikkonen, this time from the pit wall: "We need you to cool the engine".

Raikkonen says he can't without slowing down, but he's told to give an extra car length to Vettel.

Great move by Button to snatch two places from Magnussen and Gutierrez and move up to 17th. Precision driving from the 2009 world champion as he picked his way through what looked like a brewing accident at Turn 1.

Lap 8

Verstappen makes light work of Alonso on the pit straight to take ninth from the McLaren.

Hamilton is 0.4s off Bottas and told he is doing a good job managing his tyres. He's also informed that the cars in front (except Rosberg) are all on super-softs and will pit soon. Hamilton has softs which should go a fair bit longer into the race.

Lap 9

Hamilton has a gap of 8.1s to Rosberg at the moment, so any hopes of winning this race are slipping, but second is still very much a possibility.

Palmer is back in the pits with the team looking at the rear of the car. I suspect his race is over.

Lap 10

Rosberg sets a new fastest lap of 1:26.846 and the two Ferraris simply cannot live with that on their degrading super-softs.

Hamilton has a lunge on Bottas at Turn 1, but the Williams defends well to keep the Mercedes behind. Obviously Lewis wants to do everything to limit the size of the gap to Rosberg once the others pit.

Lap 11

Hamilton stays much closer to Bottas through Parabolica this time and uses his DRS to pass Bottas into Turn 1. A great move to move up to fourth which was all about nailing the Parabolica onto the main straight.

Lap 12

Rosberg's lead is now 5.6s over Vettel and 12.0s ahead of Hamilton.

Radio Hamilton: "The rears are pretty wasted already"

All that time behind Bottas took its toll on Hamilton's tyres.

Raikkonen told "it won't be long now", Ferrari getting ready to dispose of those 14-lap old super-softs on his car.

Lap 13

Rosberg is showing impressive pace and takes another second out of both Vettel and Hamilton behind. Hamilton is clearly struggling on some rather second-hand rear tyres.

An update on Nasr: Turns out he made it back to the pits and is getting ready to head back out by the looks of it.

Lap 14

Bottas, Verstappen, Alonso and Kvyat all pit.

Bottas returns to the track in 13th behind Button and his Williams is sporting a set of new soft tyres.

Lap 15

Bottas makes use of his fresh tyres to pass Button and Sainz in the Curva Grande. He made it look easy, but that is a fast corner and required some bravery to stick his car on the inside of both.

Lap 16

Raikkonen comes in for a set of super-softs, confirming he is two-stopping as predicted.

Rosberg has a lead of 12s over Vettel, Hamilton is another two seconds behind Vettel.

Lap 17

Vettel pits, handing Hamilton second place. Vettel takes on the super-soft meaning he too is on a two-stop. Unless he is very quick on this stint, Hamilton should take second on his one-stop strategy.

Alonso is not a happy boy after losing a few seconds at his pit stop with a red light not switching to green on the McLaren gantry.

Vettel rejoins just ahead of Raikkonen but the Finn doesn't put up much of a fight into Turn 1 and it's 'as you were' for the two Ferrari drivers.

Lap 18

Vettel's tyres are three laps younger than Raikkonen's because Raikkonen put a couple of laps on his during qualifying.

Meanwhile, there is a 14s gap between the Mercedes out front, both on 21 lap old softs.

Lap 19

Vettel is lapping about 0.3s quicker than the Mercedes and is 22.1s behind Hamilton, but all three cars have one stop left to make so it doesn't look like the Ferrari is quick enough to spoil Mercedes' one-two.

Lap 20

Hamilton unlocks a bit of pace from his battered rear tyres. He wants to pit and come out ahead of the Ferraris but isn't there yet. Of course, it's all a bit academic as once Hamilton makes his stop he should be going to the end whereas Ferrari will also have to make another stop after.

Lap 21

Rosberg is losing about 0.7s per lap to Hamilton, but we have often seen a Mercedes out in front moderate its pace around this stage so as not to put undue stress on the engine or tyres.

Lap 22

Bottas is 9.0s off Raikkonen and lapping about 0.5s slower per lap. Ricciardo is just 1.2s off the Williams and lapping at a similar pace with the same-aged soft tyres bolted on.

Lap 23

Perez moves past Grosjean for seventh, but the Haas is on a one-stopper so that was entirely predictable.

Verstappen also makes his way past the Haas, which will be in freefall on those 22-lap old soft tyres.

Lap 24

Rosberg sees more of his lead chipped away as the gap narrows to 11.8s to Hamilton.

Rosberg told he needs another couple of laps, he's happy to do that but asks his engineer to keep an eye on the lap times.

Lap 25

Rosberg pits for mediums, confirming the one-stop for the race leader. Hamilton takes the lead, but is likely to pit on the next lap.

It wasn't the cleanest stop for Rosberg after he went a bit long in his pit box, but he has the margin over Hamilton to get away with it.

Lap 26

Hamilton pits from the lead ... Mediums for Hamilton too and he comes out behind the two Ferraris. Not a major drama,however, as we know the Ferraris will pit again.

It does rather dampen any hopes Hamilton had of catching Rosberg as he now has two Ferraris creating dirty air in front of him.

Hamilton asks for confirmation that the Ferraris will pit again and gets the answer he was looking for.

Lap 27

Rosberg sets the fastest lap of the race on his new mediums. We've seen all season that the Mercedes is a very happy car with white-sidewalled tyres on.

2.6s separates the two Ferrari drivers, but I don't see Kimi launcing a challenge on Vettel

Lap 28

Wehrlein pulls over in a cloud of smoke. That's one Mercedes engine that was clearly fed up of lapping Monza. Worth nothing that it's not the same spec or age as the ones in Rosberg and Hamilton's cars.

Lap 29

Hamilton sets a new fastest lap. His gap to Rosberg is now 10.5s but he has the two Ferraris between him and his teammate.

Grosjean finally pits and takes on super-softs. An interesting choice with 24 laps remaining.

Lap 30

Vettel is 4.6s off Rosberg and lapping faster. Raikkonen has dropped to 2.8s off his teammate, with Hamilton growing larger in his mirrors.

Traffic also coming into play here, slowing Rosberg first of course as he encounters the slower cars before the Ferraris and his teammate.

Lap 31

Bottas makes his second pit stop and takes on softs. So that's a strategy of SS-S-S.

Lap 32

Hamilton is now 9.9s off Rosberg and 3.1s off Raikkonen.

Perez is lining up a move on Alonso for 10th place. Force India are being outpaced by championship rivals Williams this weekend so he needs the position...

And he takes it with relative ease on the pit straight as Mercedes power outguns Honda power.

Lap 33

Bottas all over the back of Hulkenberg and needs to make the move stick if he is going to challenge Ricciardo for position at the end of this race.

Bottas makes the move stick with his Mercedes engine singing at high revs behind him in eighth gear, in the slipstream and with DRS. That's probably as fast as he'll go all season.

Lap 34

Vettel pits for softs. Not the fastest stop but he's back out ahead of Verstappen in fifth place.

Both Red Bulls are on their 20th lap on their current set of softs, so are expected to stop again in the remaining 18 laps.

Lap 35

Raikkonen pits from third. Soft tyres for the Finn too and he comes out behind Verstappen. He's comfortably clear of Bottas though, so should be fine for fourth once the two Red Bulls make their second stop.

Meanwhile, Rosberg's lead stands at 11.5s over Hamilton with no cars between them on the same lap. They should now be heading for a formation finish and another Mercedes one-two.

Lap 36

Verstappen pits for another set of softs. He comes out behind Perez in ninth - both have pitted twice so that is a genuine battle for position.

Lap 37

Massa now pits in the Williams. Super-softs go one and he comes back out in tenth. Button ahead of him is expected to pit again.

Lap 38

Ricciardo pits from third. Super-softs for him for the remaining 15 laps. Ricciardo comes out 4.7s behind Bottas in fifth, but has a softer compound on his car and they are five-laps younger.

So the order in the top eight is based on all cars making their final stops. The main battle to watch are Bottas/Ricciardo and Perez/Verstappen. The others should be set to cruise to the end.

Lap 39

Button pits, tidying up the top ten even more. Massa and Hulkenberg move into the points paying positions with 7.0s between them. Hulkenberg told to push, but that is going to be a tough gap to close.

Lap 40

Rosberg holds a 10.8s lead over Hamilton at the front. It's a further 16.5s back to Vettel, who has a 6.8s lead over Raikkonen in fourth. The Ferrari is 11.5s clear of Bottas, who is 3.1s quicker than Ricciardo with the Red Bull closing at one second per lap..

Lap 41

Hamilton locks up into Turn 1 and has to cross the speed bumps on the inside of the apex at Turn 2. Clearly he's still pushing, but that has lost him another second to Rosberg.

The Mercedes pit wall points out the danger of a safety car mixing things up, but I don't see that having a major impact as all the top ten have made their final stops.

Lap 42

Ricciardo continues to close the gap to Bottas for fifth, the gap now stands at 2.3s. Verstappen has the gap to Perez down to 2,8s and is also closer than the car in front.

Lap 43

Raikkonen sets a new fastest lap with a 1:26.287 using his soft tyres, but that is unlikely to be enough to challenge Vettel in front.

Sainz passes Ericsson for 15th at Ascari. A nice move, but no points prizes for that one.

Lap 44

Rosberg now has a 13.213s lead over Hamilton. Vettel is a second faster than Hamilton on that lap and on younger, softer tyres, but he only has eight laps left to close a 12.4s gap.

Lap 45

Button passes Alonso with a very nice move into Turn 1. Alonso fights back at the second chicane, but sadly this is only for 12th and 13th. Worth noting Button's strategy has put him on super-softs and Alonso on softs. Button's tyres are also three laps younger. Nevertheless, this has been a great overall drive from Button considering the car he has underneath him. A shame he won't be rewarded with points.

Lap 46

Ricciardo now within a second of Bottas, so has the DRS available.

Verstappen still has a 1.792s gap to Perez.

Ricciardo on Bottas' tail through Ascari, he needs to stay close in Parabolica to have any chance of passing into T1.

Lap 47

Ricciardo sets the fastest lap of the race and celebrates with a very late braking move into Turn 1. Remarkable!

Bottas thought his Mercedes power had the Red Bull covered, but he did not bank on Ricciardo having a go from that far back!

Beautifully controlled under braking to keep the Williams away from the first apex and nail him out of the second. Ricciardo takes fifth.

Lap 48

Verstappen now attacking Perez. Verstappen attacks at the second chicane and makes the move stick! It looked like contact as Perez dives for the run off, but that looked like a brave and bold move executed well by Verstappen.

A replay shows no contact. Perez just realised he'd been beaten and no option but to bail out of the chicane. Great Verstappen move, saying I'm sticking my car here whether you like it or not!

Lap 49

So those are the two battle I picked after the second pit stops sorted. Looks like we should now have a cruise to the flag over the remaining four laps.

Lap 50

Rosberg keeps a 12.6s lead over Hamilton, who has 9.8s over Vettel. Raikkonen 6.6s off Vettel but with a 16s lead over Ricciardo.

Lap 51

Alonso makes a late pit stop. An odd decision, but it might give him a shot at fastest lap from 14th place.

Raikkonen currently holds the fastest lap with a 1:26.016.

Lap 52

Massa is closing fast on Perez, but with just two laps left he needs the Force India to make a mistake.

Button is lining up Grosjean to add to his list of great overtakes this afternoon.

Lap 53

And Rosberg wins the Italian Grand Prix to close the gap to Hamilton to just two points!

Hamilton takes second, 15s adrift, with Vettel third and a further 5.9s down the road. The tifosi get their driver on the podium, but there was no challenging Mercedes today, even with Hamilton's shocker at the start.

Alonso does indeed get his fastest lap! A 1:25.340. That's one way to make good use of your Pirelli tyre allocation.