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Rosberg rules as Hamilton errs
MONZA: Nico Rosberg exploited Lewis Hamilton’s poor start to claim his first Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday and move to within two points of his Mercedes
MONZA: Nico Rosberg exploited Lewis Hamilton’s poor start to claim his first Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday and move to within two points of his Mercedes teammate in the world championship.
Rosberg roared into the lead at the first corner when pole-sitter Hamilton became bogged down and pulled away to control the race with calm aplomb and finish 15 seconds clear of the defending three-time champion.
Sebastian Vettel came home third, 5.9 seconds further adrift, ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, to the delight of a ‘scarlet army’ of home fans who swarmed on to the famed track for a memorable podium ceremony.
Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth for Red Bull ahead of Valtteri Bottas of Williams, Dutch teenager Max Verstappen who was seventh in the second Red Bull, Sergio Perez of Force India, retirement-bound Felipe Massa in the second Williams and Nico Hulkenberg in the second Force India.
It was Rosberg’s first Italian win, his seventh of the season and 21st of his career.
‘AWESOME START’
“It was all down to the start. I had an awesome start and it was all from there,” beamed Rosberg.
It was also the 50th podium finish of Rosberg’s career and prevented Hamilton completing a cherished hat-trick of Italian wins, to equal a feat achieved only once before by Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1950’s, and register his 50th career victory.
It was the first time in seven years that the race was not won by the driver starting from pole position. “Good job!” Hamilton grimaced as he shook hands with Rosberg afterwards.
Hamilton, who effectively lost the race in the first 20 metres when the lights went out, now leads the title race with 250 points ahead of Rosberg on 248 and knows, from the look on his face, that he has a battle to stay in front.
He admitted that his bad start was his own fault, according to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. “Lewis came on the radio and said it was his mistake,” he said.
HAMILTON BAFFLED
Hamilton admitted he had no explanation for his terrible grid getaway. “Yes, the start was the decider for this race and then I had to climb back and score points.
“Obviously, it was lost at the start,” said Hamilton. “I knew that my engineers would be worried or nervous of how the start went, so that is why I tried to put their mind at ease.
“I don’t know what happened. I will try to understand it later. I did everything normal.
“I did the sequence exactly the same, I think I just got lots of wheel-spin - a bit like Nico’s start in Hockenheim.
“We have a relatively inconsistent clutch. In the past, they told you the clutch temp and it was easier to hit targets.
“Now, it’s a lot less easy to know what the clutch will be delivering or won’t.”
Hamilton managed to climb back to second place, but the time lost meant Rosberg cruised to his first Monza win.
