Hamilton increases lead in title race after battling to a dramatic victory in Monza
HE crashed into his main title rival, twice overtook the driver who started on pole and matched another Michael Schumacher record.
And at the end of a thrilling Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Lewis Hamilton had stretched his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 30 points as he took another step towards his fifth world crown.
It was the 68th victory of the 33-year-old’s career and arguably one of his best drives after regaining the lead, with nine laps to go, when he passed Kimi Raikkonen for a second time.
The win saw Hamilton equal Schumacher’s record of five Italian Grand Prix victories and left Ferrari feeling the pain once again in their own backyard.
Hamilton had collided with Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap, the German’s Ferrari spinning down from second to 18th place, before recovering to finish fourth, which helped to minimise the damage done in his pursuit of the Briton.
Ferrari fans, who had turned out in droves in the hope of celebrating a first home win in eight years after both cars started on the front row of the grid, instead witnessed a fifth win in a row for Mercedes at Monza.
After the race, the reigning BY FRANK HAYNES world champion said: “I want to give it up to Ferrari who put up a great challenge and gave us a great fight.
“I want to thank the guys here and everyone back home. Without their belief it wouldn’t have been possible.”
Hamilton was subjected to loud boos on the podium but said: “There are a lot of Ferrari fans out there, and you hear a lot of negative sounds, but that only Driver Team Time 1 L Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes 1:16:54.484 2 K Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari +8.705s 3 V Bottas (Fin) Mercedes +14.066s 4 S Vettel (Ger) Ferrari +16.151s 5 M Verstappen (Hol) Red Bull +18.208s 6 R Grosjean (Fra) Haas +56.320s 7 E Ocon (Fra) Force India +57.761s 8 S Perez (Mex) Force India +58.678s 9 C Sainz (Spa) Renault +78.140s 10 L Stroll (Can) Williams +1 Lap encourages and energises me. There’s been a lot of negativity but there were a lot of British flags out there today. They know who they are.
“When I spot the British flags among the Ferrari red that is my fuel and I get my positivity and energy from them. They are the miracle today. Given the sheer pressure that we are under I will definitely consider this win to be right up there in my career.”
Vettel was at his commanding Pts 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 Driver 1 L Hamilton (GBR) 2 S Vettel (Ger) 3 K Raikonnen (Fin) 4 V Bottas (Fin) 5 M Verstappen (Hol) 6 D Ricciardo (Aus) 7 N Hulkenberg (Ger) 8 K Magnussen (Den) 9 S Perez (Mex) 10 F Alonso (Spa) Team Wins Pts Mercedes 6 256 Ferrari 5 226 Ferrari 0 164 Mercedes 0 159 Red Bull 1 130 Red Bull 2 118 Renault 0 52 Haas 0 49 Force India 0 44 McLaren 0 44 best seven days ago to win in Belgium but his defeat here is a major setback in his title quest.
The crash between Hamilton and the German on the opening lap was reviewed by race stewards and they deemed it as a racing incident so neither driver was punished.
Vettel covered the inside at the second chicane but Hamilton moved to the racing line and was ahead going into the corner. Vettel did not want to concede the place and thudded into Hamilton’s Mercedes before spiralling into a spin.
Vettel complained during the race calling the incident “silly” and vented his frustration when speaking to the press afterwards.
He said: “I tried to pass Kimi and he opened the brakes and I didn’t have a gap. Lewis saw the gap round the outside but he didn’t leave me any space. Then I was the one who spun around which was ironic.
“It wasn’t too peachy but I recovered and got a lot of points. It doesn’t help when you lose points but it’s not the end of the world.
“We will all still wake up tomorrow morning. I’m down for the people. Their support is incredible. But you get spun round and there’s not much you can do.”
ITALIAN GP RESULTS DRIVER STANDINGS