Hamilton wins, Hartley crashes
For Ferrari, the wait continues. For Lewis Hamilton, it was a dream of a race as he won the Italian Grand Prix after starting third on the grid to extend his championship lead over Sebastian Vettel following an opening-lap collision with the German driver that effectively ended his chances of victory.
New Zealand driver Brendon Hartley was caught in the starting mess. His race was over before the first corner in what was another unfortunate disaster.
Starting 16th on the grid, Hartley found himself with nowhere to go, squeezed between two cars and the result was losing his front right wheel through contact.
Ferrari hoped to end their eight-year wait for a win at their home track after taking the front two places on the grid at the Italian GP for the first time since 2000 but pole-sitter Kimi Raikkonen was overtaken by Hamilton eight laps from the end and the Mercedes driver held on, much to the disappointment of the passionate Italian fans.
‘‘Today was so difficult. Whilst the negativity is never great, that’s what powered me along. I actually accept it,’’ Hamilton said after getting roundly booed on the podium.
Hamilton tied Michael Schumacher’s record of five Italian GP victories and extended his overall lead to 30 points over Vettel, who had cut the British driver’s advantage to 17 points in Belgium in the previous race.
Raikkonen was second and Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas third.