|
Hello and welcome to ESPN's coverage of the Italian Grand Prix from Monza. --- 14:02: Hamilton takes his place on pole and waits for the field to take their positions. Here we go... --- 14:00: Hamilton leads the field away for the start of the formation lap. --- 13:59: Pirelli expects a one-stop strategy this afternoon to be the optimum but there is room for the team's to adopt two stops if they want. Could be some big strategy calls made later in this race. --- 13:58: Not long until the start of the formation lap. Four drivers on mediums - Alonso, Sainz, Kvyat and Ricciardo. The rest on the soft tyre. --- 13:53: Great atmosphere and noise from the grandstand adjacent to the start/finish straight. --- 13:52: Let's not forget Mercedes' starts of late. Hamilton got away well in Belgium but Rosberg struggled off the line. Hamilton has lost position on the first lap at three of the last four races. With so much emphasis on power here, Mercedes' race pace could recover any poor start from Hamilton but it will still be a key part of this race. --- 13:50: There's been so much talk about Ferrari, let's not forget Williams has locked out the third row and is also equipped with that Mercedes power unit. That run down to Turn 1 is going to be excellent. --- 13:39: For those interested, we also saw the first glimpse of Hamilton's bleached-blonde hair cut. It looked ... blonde. --- 13:48: Paddy Lowe tells TV Ferrari will be giving Mercedes a "difficult afternoon". Mercedes clearly has been slightly rattled by Ferrari's qualifying performance from yesterday. --- 13:46: The drivers at the front of the grid for the Italian national anthem. Will we be hearing it again in a couple of hours? --- 13:44: Important to remember Hamilton had a terrible start last year, dropping to fourth by the end of the first lap. He recovered to win on that occasion but a repeat this afternoon would be advantage Ferrari. --- 13:42: It would be a great result for F1 if a Ferrari could win this afternoon. Some real excitement on the grid with those two cars poised behind the world champion. --- 13:40: Lots of fans out there, as always at Monza. People from all over the world but lots and lots of red in the grandstands. Imagine this place not being on the calendar. --- 13:35: There's a bit of mayhem in the paddock as Italy's president, Matteo Renzi, has arrived in the paddock to lobby Bernie Ecclestone over keeping Monza beyond this year. --- 13:33: If you're trying to get your head around this weekend's grid penalties, the grid on the left hand side should help explain things. --- 13:30: The pit lane is officially open for business, and a Manor and Ferrari are the first to head to the grid. No prizes for guessing which one got the biggest cheer from the tifosi. |
|
|
Lap 1 |
Great start from Hamilton as Raikkonen stalls on the line! Disaster for the Finn. He finally gets going but he's right at the back of the field. Massa, Bottas AND Perez all get ahead of Rosberg off the line. It's going from bad to worse for the German. Hamilton leads Vettel into Turn 1. Hulkenberg fends off pressure from Ericsson on the run down towards the Parabolica. |
|
Lap 2 |
Hamilton leads by 1.5s already. Nasr pits, while Verstappen comes in to complete his drive-through penalty. Raikkonen down in 14th after that disastrous start. Ferraris afternoon plans up in smoke... Button is up to 10th but I fear that's as good as his afternoon is going to get. Grosjean has pulled off the race track with a smoky Lotus. Maldonado retires in the pit lane, so Lotus has lost both its drivers already! |
|
Lap 3 |
In clear air, Hamilton sets a fastest lap and already leads by 2.1 seconds. Raikkonen has a look down the inside of Ricciardo coming up to Turn 1 but decides against a move. He's going to have to turn in a monster drive to get anywhere near to that podium after that start. Rosberg has got past Perez for fifth but now has two Williams drivers up ahead. Raikkonen has a go on the entry to Ascari but does well to avoid contact. He gets it right on his second attempt down the long straight towards Parabolica. |
|
Lap 4 |
All of that commotion means Massa leads team-mate Bottas in third. Told you, don't write off Williams this afternoon. Seeing replays of the start again. Lightning reactions from Rosberg and Bottas to avoid hitting the rear of Raikkonen. On boards shows Raikkonen playing with his gear shift paddle as the rest of the field drives around him. |
|
Lap 5 |
Vettel keeping Hamilton honest in these early stages, the lead still 2.2s. Rosberg currently not able to get closer than five tenths behind Bottas. Replays show some debris go flying at the first corner at the start. We also see Raikkonen needing to use the escape road at the Roggia to avoid contact with Sainz. |
|
Lap 6 |
Raikkonen makes it work this time, easing past Sainz on the inside of the first chicane. He's now in the points. Massa has gone purple through the first sector for the third time in three laps. That Williams looking pretty handy out there, which will be a concern for Rosberg. Raikkonen passes Button on entry to the Ascari chicane. Nice stuff from the Finn. |
|
Lap 7 |
Fastest lap from Hamilton, a 1:27.804, and the gap out in front now over three seconds. "Why does the overtake not work?" Rosberg asking Mercedes, about the boost from his engine. Sainz forces Button over the kerbs on the exit of the Roggia and can only make the move stick on the entrance to the first Lesmos. Button then loses a place to Ricciardo, the McLaren unsurprisingly going backwards out there. |
|
Lap 8 |
Another fastest lap for Hamilton, a 1:27.780. His lead nearly four seconds now. Nicholas says: "Please let something go wrong with Hamilton's engine. This is mega-frustrating." Kvyat makes light work of Button coming into the Rettifilio. Clear to see how much power that Honda engine is lacking down the straights. |
|
Lap 9 |
Hamilton's lead now 4.5. Another personal best lap from Massa, who is benefitting from Rosberg being tucked up behind Rosberg. Mercedes is now telling Rosberg to look after his brakes, which explains why he's dropped to eight tenths behind Bottas. |
|
Lap 10 |
"Rosberg has high front brake wear, he's struggling with his brakes. This is looking good," Williams tells Bottas. Good unless you're Rosberg, that is. It's also looking very good for Hamilton's championship lead currently, though it is early days of course. Raikkonen up to ninth and has another Ferrari power unit to get past in the form of Ericsson's Sauber. |
|
Lap 11 |
Hamilton currently lapping half a second quicker than Vettel. Race control confirms a five-second time penalty for Sainz for exceeding the track and gaining an advantage. The Toro Rosso driver pits and has to lock up heavily to make the speed limit in time. He waits for five seconds before the mechanics get to work and, the delay aside, that looked pretty tidy. |
|
Lap 12 |
"Brakes are improving with that management," Tony Ross tells Rosberg. He is now a lot closer to the Williams of Bottas ahead. Verstappen eases past Alonso's McLaren for 13th place. Siddhesh says: "So much for all the Pundits who were predicting a Ferrari fightback today! Looks like Mercs were just being cautious in Qualy yesterday, despite whatever they might say!" I don't know, this would have been a very different race if Raikkonen had got away cleanly. |
|
Lap 13 |
Rosberg closes down on Bottas at a rate of knots and has a think about an optimistic lunge down the inside, but wisely pulls out of it. The Mercedes looking pretty supreme in a straight line. Hulkenberg complaining about an issue with his exhaust. He's currently seventh, just behind Force India team-mate Perez. |
|
Lap 14 |
Hamilton's lead now 7.5s. Behind, Rosberg looks much closer for a stab at Bottas with the DRS.... He has a go down the inside but was nowhere near close enough and Bottas does well to hold him off. Rosberg looking for the inside line through the Curva Grande but Bottas refuses to budge out of the way. Clever driving from Bottas. This is helping Massa's cause in third. |
|
Lap 15 |
Rosberg moving out of the racing line down the back straight, which suggests he is still struggling with something, and he is a lot further behind Bottas. As I type that, Tony Ross tells him brakes are "very hot". Raikkonen still three seconds behind Ericsson, so his afternoon not going anything like what he would have imagined. |
|
Lap 16 |
Hamilton still lapping quicker than Vettel and his lead is up to 8.2s. That's around the same margin between Vettel and Massa, too. Rosberg has dropped 1.4s behind Bottas. Verstappen with a lovely move on Button on the inside of the Parabolica. That forces Button wide and they fight all the way down to Turn 1 and the Dutch teenager holds firm on the outside to keep the position. Great driving, from both men. I remember Button's fighting performance here last year. |
|
Lap 17 |
Williams tells Massa they are very happy with him and that they are still on for 'Plan A', which you would imagine is a one-stop strategy. That one-stop window should open very soon - lap 21 seems to be the optimum time to pit. |
|
Lap 18 |
As it stands, Hamilton will lead the championship by 43 points. Long way to go yet, of course, but that's why it's so important for Rosberg to make something happen soon. "Starting to lose the rears a little bit," says Vettel. Nasr passes Alonso at Turn 1 for 14th. Alonso stays behind the Sauber on the run down to the Roggia but his car just doesn't have the power to get him close enough. |
|
Lap 19 |
Rosberg pits from fifth position. How will Williams respond? Mercedes gives the German medium rubber. Big lap ahead now if he wants to undercut Bottas but will it work at this sort of circuit? Hulkenberg also pits. Raikkonen has finally got himself to within DRS range of Ericsson up ahead. |
|
Lap 20 |
Massa pits from fourth.... Not the Williams I was expecting to see come in first. Good clean stop, 3.7s in the box. Raikkonen passes Ericsson into Turn 1... further back, Massa has dropped behind Rosberg! Great call from Mercedes, the undercut has worked an absolute treat for the German driver. What will they do with Bottas now? He was the man I expected to come in first but that has helped Rosberg's cause no end. Replays again showing how easy Raikkonen's pass was on Ericsson. |
|
Lap 21 |
Out in front, Hamilton leads by nearly 12 seconds. Ericsson pits. Bottas does not, so Williams trying to do something different on his strategy and they have to. Rosberg gained around 1.8s on Massa on his out lap. |
|
Lap 22 |
Ferrari tells Vettel it is sticking to Plan A as well. He's in a race of his own at the moment, as is the race leader. Raikkonen up to fifth but is yet to pit. Hamilton reporting some degradation on his front left, which is giving him some understeer. His lap times are still quicker than Massa and Rosberg on fresh mediums. |
|
Lap 23 |
Bottas pits from third. He's exactly 20 seconds ahead of Rosberg as he enters the pit lane, which is nowhere near enough of a margin. Unsurprisingly, Rosberg and Massa fly by the garage before Bottas is even back on track. Massa starting to turn in purple sector times on his tyres. Sainz passes Nasr down the inside of Turn 1 for 13th. |
|
Lap 24 |
Hamilton told he is matching Rosberg's time on the "other tyre", which shows the benefit of a bit of clear air. Perez pits from fourth. Nice 2.6s stop from Force India, which gets him out ahead of Kvyat in ninth but crucially ahead of his team-mate HUlkenberg. Kvyat all over the back of Perez through Curva Grande but his Renault power unit doesn't have enough grunt to get him close enough to the Force India. |
|
Lap 25 |
Raikkonen up to third, albeit until he pits. He's a massive 40 seconds down on Hamilton as we approach mid-distance - not a scenario many would have predicted at 2pm local time. How long will Ferrari stretch this stint out? He's lapping quicker than Vettel currently. Rosberg starting to record personal best laps now. Vettel still has to pit and Ferrari calls him in, to respond to this renewed pace from Rosberg. |
|
Lap 26 |
Hamilton carries on his merry way, he's still quicker with those old softs than Rosberg is on fresh medium rubber. Lightning fast stop from Ferrari, 2.4s. He emerges ahead of Raikkonen to reclaim second position. Behind, Rosberg sets a 1:27.771 - a fastest lap. With that, Mercedes calls Hamilton in from the lead. He's nearly 40 seconds ahead of the nearest man. |
|
Lap 27 |
Hamilton pits and leaves the box before Vettel has even reached Ascari. He's in a world of his own. Former team-mate Button also pitting. Slightly hairy moment for Hamilton as Nasr locks up in front of him and goes over the Rettifilo. Button, meanwhile, has gone back to medium tyres. "We need to push now, Kimi," Ferrari says. Rosberg is baring down on him behind and the longer he can keep him behind the better for Vettel's chances. "Nico, important to get past Kimi," Tony Ross tells Rosberg. He goes for it on the approach to Parabolica but Raikkonen doesn't budge. |
|
Lap 28 |
Rosberg gets DRS assistance on the pit straight and eases past the Ferrari driver. Vettel up next for the Mercedes man. This is the superior Mercedes race pace Hamilton and Rosberg seemed pretty relaxed about yesterday. Nice move from Ricciardo, throwing it down the inside of Perez at Roggia for seventh. "Come on guys, it's time to stop!" Kimi says, and Ferrari calls him into box. |
|
Lap 29 |
Vettel responds to that pressure from Rosberg with a fastest lap, a 1:27.548. Merhi nearly ploughs into the back of Raikkonen's Ferrari as they enter the pit lane! A lucky escape for both men. Replays show Raikkonen slowing down very quickly and very early, and Merhi having to lock up very hard just to avoid a nose full of Ferrari gearbox. Perez gets back past Ricciardo for P7 on the inside of Turn 1. |
|
Lap 30 |
Hamilton's lead currently 18.6s. Nasr glides past Button on the approach to the Roggia chicane. What must those McLaren drivers be thinking? In the battle for second, Vettel and Rosberg exchanging almost identical times but Vettel has much more life left in those tyres than his fellow countryman. |
|
Lap 31 |
Ricciardo finally pits from seventh. Been a nice punchy drive from the Australian so far. Red Bull still supreme with those pit stops, that one just 2.3s in the box. Raikkonen is back behind Ericsson, where he was stuck earlier. |
|
Lap 32 |
Nice move from Raikkonen down the inside of Ericsson as they approach Ascari. Hulkenberg the next man up. Vettel maintaining a 4.5s gap over Rosberg. You feel the Mercedes man will have to do something pretty special in the final 20 laps to finish this one in second. |
|
Lap 33 |
Out in front, Hamilton is 19.2s clear of Vettel. A nice Sunday drive for the world champion - albeit a pretty quick one. Eight seconds up the road is the other Force India of Perez. Raikkonen moves into to DRS range of Hulkenberg and eases past him into Turn 1. |
|
Lap 34 |
"At the moment, lap times, tyre deg, are all pointing towards the one stop," Force India tells Hulkenberg. He's now got Ericsson's Sauber for company. |
|
Lap 35 |
In the #BelieveinMcLarenHonda battle, Button and Alonso are on different tyre strategies and split by 11 seconds. They're running in 15th and 16th - a farcical situation and there doesn't seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel. Hamilton sets a fastest lap, a 1:27.349. His lead ticking towards 20 seconds. Interesting. Mercedes tells Rosberg P2 is still possible because his option tyres went off earlier than anyone elses in the first stint. His current medium tyres are seven laps older than Vettel's, however. |
|
Lap 36 |
Hamilton posts another fastest lap, a 1:27.125. This is a bit like the dominant pace we saw from that new-spec engine during Friday practice. No sign of the gap between Vettel and Rosberg closing up just yet, it's still at 4.7s. |
|
Lap 37 |
Hamilton just in another stratosphere as he turns in his third straight fastest lap, this time a 1:26.890. Raikkonen 6.4s behind Perez but that gap isn't coming down as quick as Ferrari would have liked. Siddhesh says: "If Rosberg's option tyres went off quicker than anyone in the first stint, then how is P2 still possible?! Think you meant Vettel?" Apologies, I did mean that. Mercedes said Vettel's tyres went off before anyone elses, hence why it thinks P2 is possible. |
|
Lap 38 |
Nice move from Verstappen as he slingshots around the outside of Ericsson, with the aid of Mr DRS, into Turn 1. I'd happily watch an entire race from his on-board camera. Vettel getting tetchy about the lack of blue flags ahead. |
|
Lap 39 |
Vettel gets blue flags down the pit straight and Nasr eases off, allowing the four-time world champion past before Turn 1. That cost him four tenths in the battle with Rosberg for second, though the gap is still 4.2s. |
|
Lap 40 |
Personal best lap from Rosberg. Attack time for the Mercedes? That took another three tenths out of Vettel's time. |
|
Lap 41 |
Hulkenberg falling into the clutches of Ericsson. Time to consider another stop for the Force India? Ricciardo a further 12 seconds. Hamilton asking if there's anything he can do to turn the engine down. That's what drivers think about when they're 22 seconds ahead of the nearest car. "I'm telling you, something isn't working on the back! It reminds me of last year. No traction, no grip, nothing!" Hulkenberg not happy, basically. |
|
Lap 42 |
Rosberg running out of laps to catch Vettel, assuming the Ferrari can keep his tyres in a good state to the end. He's not going down without a fight, though, as another personal best chips another three tenths off Vettel's advantage. 3.4s now the gap. Shots of George Lucas in the Mercedes garage. *Insert joke about the force here* |
|
Lap 43 |
Vettel responds to Rosberg's personal best with one of his own, though it's absolutely identical to Rosberg's last lap. Can't see the order changing as it stands... |
|
Lap 44 |
Hamilton will lead the championship by 38 points if things stay the same. Vettel and Rosberg posts personal best laps, so maybe that one isn't over like I thought it was. The gap is still 3.1s and now traffic and blue flags will be pretty important. Alonso closing up on Button in the #BelieveinMcLarenHonda duel for 15th. |
|
Lap 45 |
Rosberg now 2.8s behind Vettel. Some big laps ahead for the Mercedes man. Raikkonen now 1.6s behind Perez. Sixth on the table for the Ferrari man, which is a fairly good recovery drive given that terrible start he had. |
|
Lap 46 |
Hulkenberg doing well to keep Ericsson at bay currently. Bottas posts a personal best, he's four seconds behind Williams team-mate Massa. Raikkonen should get DRS on Perez at the start of the next lap. |
|
Lap 47 |
Alonso's McLaren looks incredibly well planted at the front end as it comes through the Lesmos. He's coming up behind team-mate Button and has a stab of DRS but can't get close enough to pass. Thrilling stuff for the McLaren-Honda lads..... Rosberg still 2.6s behind Vettel. |
|
Lap 48 |
FOM's cameras sticking with Alonso and Button. Alonso on old softs, Button on old mediums. Well, this is interesting... Hamilton being told he needs to pull a gap - so is there a pit stop on the horizon for the race leader? Late drama perhaps. Replays show a big lock up into Turn 1, giving him a bit of a flat spot. |
|
Lap 49 |
Hamilton being told for some "Hammertime" laps now, and is also told not to ask questions as they'll tell him why at the end. This one could be far from over... Is it a tyre concern? Things are going a bit better for the other Mercedes. Rosberg inside two seconds of Vettel. Raikkonen closes up behind Perez with DRS but is nowhere near close enough to try a pass. |
|
Lap 50 |
Some very concerned faces down at Mercedes. What are they seeing on their data? "I've not got a lot of pace in me. What do I need to do?" Hamilton asks. Mercedes tells him he's doing everythign perfectly. Disaster for the #BelieveinMcLarenHonda duel as Alonso retires from 16th. Just when it was getting mildly interesting. Raikkonen moves to the outside under braking for Turn 1 and that's P6 for the 2007 world champion. Nice driving but Perez gets alongside at Curva Grande but the inside line is always enough to hold the position and Raikkonen just out-brakes the Force India into the corner. |
|
Lap 51 |
Hamilton getting closer to the chequered flag but will he need another pit stop? His lead currently 24.7s... In all this late drama Bottas has moved to within half a second of Massa. Smoke from the back of Rosberg's engine! Flames from the back as well and that's the end of that battle for second. All focus now on Hamilton's engine as this could be VSC territory. |
|
Lap 52 |
That moves Massa onto the podium... Will there be some team orders to give Bottas that position? Some smirks in the Ferrari garage and no doubt a few crossed fingers that similar happens to Hamilton. The difference? That power unit for Rosberg was six races old. Hamilton's engine was bolted into that car on Friday morning. "No need to take any risks, just keep doing what you are doing," Mercedes tells Hamilton now. Hamilton sounds a tad confused but he's about to start his final lap. |
|
Lap 53 |
Hamilton starts his final lap and will be a huge 53 points ahead of Rosberg if my calculations are correct. Bottas opens the DRS again, this is suddenly for the final spot on the podium. Bottas has a think about a late lunge but sensibly opts against it. Bottas has another look into the Roggia but Massa holds firm. Out in front, Lewis Hamilton wins the Italian Grand Prix and takes an almighty step towards a third world championship. Vettel settles for second position to huge cheers from the tifosi opposite the pit straight. Behind that, Massa and Bottas are still fighting and the Brazilian just holds off his team-mate to take the final spot on the podium by three tenths of a second. Raikkonen fifth, Perez sixth. "We'll talk to you about it when you get back," Peter Bonnington tells Hamilton. The world champion replies the pressure was "not cool" in those last laps. It all seemed a little bit panicky for Mercedes there. "Wow. I'm too old for that!" Massa tells Williams. "Nonsense mate, not too old, we're just getting started," comes the reply. |
