And that is that for the Italian Grand Prix. On we go to Singapore with Hamilton just two points above his Mercedes team-mate Rosberg in the overall standings with seven races to go. Game on.
I’ll leave you with Paul Weaver’s race report. Thanks for reading, cheerio!
Rosberg is now shouting in Italian to the crowd and then attempts to start a chant of Seven Nation Army. He’s one happy bunny.
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Hamilton speaks, rolls out the usual platitudes through patently gritted teeth … Rosberg at least acknowledged that he won the race with ‘an awesome start’.
Rosberg laps up the applause and ignores the boos. Toto Wolff is particularly pleased. Hamilton has a face like a smacked rear. And Vettel milks the applause in front of a sea of red flags.
The tifosi are indeed going bananas – perhaps they would be anyway – but they’re delighted to see Vettel on the podium. Hamilton is next out, then Rosberg. Both of whom get a few boos for no other reason than they’re not Ferrari drivers it seems.
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The drivers are having a cool down. Hamilton shakes Rosberg’s hand but eye contact is in short supply. Vettel and Rosberg are far warmer in congratulating each other.
Rosberg's win means he is just TWO points behind Hamilton in the championship 👊 #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/hF5l3g0NzX
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 4, 2016
Rosberg bounces out of his car and shadow boxes the camera. Toto Wolff is chuffed to bits with a 1-2. Rosberg is getting bumps from his team …
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Hamilton comes in second, having start on pole and slipped to sixth, still, he won’t be happy at all. Vettel comes third for an overdue place on the podium – something for the tifosi to cheer at least. Raikonnen is fourth with Ricciardo fifth. Button couldn’t catch Grosjean so ends up in 12th.
Rosberg wins Italian Grand Prix
Lap 53 of 53: Alonso has indeed set a fastest lap! Tres amusant. But here comes Rosberg to clinch victory and move to within two points of Hamilton!
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Lap 52 of 53: Button is just 0.5sec behind Grosjean now and so within range of an 11th-place finish.
Lap 50 of 53: With three laps to go Alonso has gone into the pits?!? The commentary team are pretty convinced it’s because he fancies a crack at the fastest lap.
Lap 49 of 53: Up at the front of the race and Rosberg is cruising. Hamilton is 12.4 seconds back and Vettel’s another 10 behind. Raikonnen seven seconds behind his team-mate and Ricciardo well back but content in fifth.
Lap 48 of 53: Back down to the battle for seventh and Verstappen is all over Perez. Verstappen has had a difficult race, a difficult weekend even, but he’ll be eager to get into seventh and that he does. Alonso isn’t having a great race either, he’s told about Grosjean slowing up in 11th and laughs his head off – somewhat bitterly.
Lap 47 of 53: Ricciardo has just clocked the fastest lap – and he’s squeezed his way past up the inside, what a piece of driving! Woof. Riccardo up into fifth!
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Lap 46 of 53: Ricciardo is within 0.8sec of Bottas. I’m not sure Bottas was given accurate information over the radio – Ricciardo is very much within DRS range.
Lap 45 of 53: Button meanwhile, nips up Alonso’s inside and into 12th. That’s McLaren ambassador Button overtaking McLaren’s star man. Alonso’s having a go back, I imagine they’ve both got huge grins on their faces.
Lap 44 of 53: Raikonnen clocks the fastest lap, he’s unlikely to change position from fourth though, he’s just having fun. Bottas is told that Ricciardo is slowing catching him but that the Red Bull will run out of time.
Lap 43 of 53: So, 10 laps to go and it’s effectively a procession for Rosberg. Alonso in 12th and Button in 13th are having a good ol’ battle, for old time’s sake.
Lap 42 of 53: Hamilton lost 1.5 seconds on a wee mishap on the previous lap and he’s given a little reminder by his team. Vettel would have to go some to get anywhere near him though.
Lap 41 of 53: The closest battle out there at the moment is for fifth place – Bottas v Ricciardo. Hamilton is doing his best but he’s trying to force it. Vettel won’t catch him but he won’t catch Rosberg.
Lap 40 of 53: Rosberg’s nigh-on certain podium finish will be his 50th – and it’ll taste all the sweeter if he does deny Hamilton his 50th GP win.
Lap 39 of 53: Rosberg’s lead is still well over 10 seconds with 14 laps to go. It would have to be something catastrophic to stop him winning now.
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Lap 38 of 53: Ricciardo now comes in. Super-soft tyres go on with 15 laps to go. He’s back out in sixth and will be going hell for leather to tussle with Bottas for fifth. Kyvat has retired by the by.
Lap 37 of 53: Ricciardo continues to stay out – he’s still just had the one stop. He’s more concerned with Bottas than he is the Ferraris. Kyvat meanwhile, has had a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit-lane.
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Lap 36 of 53: Rosberg’s lead is more than 11.5sec from Hamilton and it’s Ricciardo in third place now. He’ll have Vettel on his tail very shortly though.
Lap 35 of 53: Raikonnen goes in, but can’t make it back out in front of Verstappen, who’ll almost certainly going to have to come in again. It’s Rosberg still out in front though, eating up the track.
Lap 34 of 53: Vettel comes in for his second pit-stop now which puts Raikonnen in second, ahead of Hamilton in third. Vettel emerged in fifth, in front of Verstappen, which perhaps was more the priority for the Ferraris.
Lap 33 of 53: Bottas needs to get past Hulkenberg pretty sharpish with Ricciardo his main contender for fifth place. Get past Hulkenberg he does though, with the minimum of fuss.
Lap 32 of 53: So Hamilton is less than 10 seconds behind Rosberg, with the two Ferraris, who will be stopping again, in between them. Bottas is back out in ninth, eyeing up Hulkenberg in eighth.
Lap 31 of 53: Ricciardo (finally) overtakes Bottas – but that’s because Bottas has just gone in for his second pit-stop.
Lap 30 of 53: Hamilton is almost within two seconds of Raikonnen, but is that Raikonnen slowing down to keep Hamilton occupied? We’ll see how occupied Hamilton is …
Lap 29 of 53: Palmer is being interviewed, he’s not a happy boy at all and it’s Nasr who is bearing the brunt.
Lap 28 of 53: Wehrlein is urged to stop the car and switch off with no little urgency. He’s stationary, on the grass, and there’s a bit of smoke coming off his car. He’s out safely.
Hamilton goes fastest, he’s closing in on the Ferraris …
Lap 27 of 53: Rosberg clocks up the fastest lap. He’ll be to within two points of Hamilton should he win with his team-mate second.
Lap 26 of 53: Hamilton too has the medium tyres, having just come in. Hamilton comes back out behind the Ferraris. They’ll be looking to put as much of a gap between them and Hamilton as possible. Or can Hamilton get past them and try and close the gap on Rosberg, who is having a dream race so far?
Lap 25 of 53: Rosberg comes in – medium tyres for him. He’s got enough of a lead and enough pace in reserve not to worry to much about that. So Hamilton leads for the time being.
Lap 24 of 53: Rosberg told “two more laps” which is fine by him but he’s eager to know about lap times. Ricciardo is eyeing up fifth with Bottas in his sights.
Lap 23 of 53: And he’s just over 20 seconds ahead of Vettel. Probably not enough to emerge from his impending pit-stop ahead of the Ferrari but Vettel will be back in, Hamilton won’t be.
Lap 22 of 53: Perez moves past Grosjean into seventh now. Grosjean is treading water a little. Hamilton is 12 and a bit seconds behind Rosberg.
Lap 21 of 53: The commentators are discussing whether Ferrari have been bluffed into a two-stop strategy by Mercedes … hmmm. Hamilton is now claiming that his tyres are good and he’ll be sticking out for a couple more laps. Crafty.
Lap 20 of 53: Ricciardo blasts past Grosjean again. He wasn’t caught behind Grosjean for nearly as long as Bottas was. Hamilton is picking up a bit of pace, trying to get enough of a gap to pit and emerge back in front of the Ferraris. He’s not quite there yet but he is actually cutting the (large) gap to Rosberg.
Lap 19 of 53: Grosjean is another who hasn’t stopped yet which means he’s in fifth. Bottas is on his tail however. Ricciardo is in seventh while Bottas blasts past Grosjean.
Lap 18 of 53: Hamilton is now up to second then, as a result of both Ferraris stopping but he’s pretty much 15 seconds down on Rosberg.
Lap 17 of 53: Vettel comes in now, and it’s also the super-soft for him so he’ll also be back in. Vettel just comes back out ahead of Raikonnen – just.
Lap 16 of 53: Raikonnen goes into the pits. They’ve gone for more super-soft tyres so he’ll be pitting again.
Lap 15 of 53: So Rosberg leads by almost 10 seconds from Vettel with Raikonnen about 2.5secs back. Hamilton is a similar distance back while Bottas, after his pit-stop, is motoring back through the field.
Lap 14 of 53: Verstappen is as well. Hamilton meanwhile is told ‘three laps’ and given the green light to ‘pick up the pace’.
Lap 13 of 53: Everything’s going Rosberg’s way here. He’s losing time to Rosberg. We’re about to have some pit-stops at Red Bull and Williams. Yep, Bottas is in.
Lap 12 of 53: Hamilton isn’t hugely pleased with his tyres. He’s not hugely pleased about anything. Raikonnen also urged to stay out for a bit longer.
Lap 10 of 53: Hamilton has another go at Bottas in a lengthy straight and he’s up to fourth! The Ferraris are next on his to-do list. Rosberg is cruising at the moment, 11 seconds ahead of his fourth-placed team-mate.
Lap 9 of 53: Hamilton seems to be listening but he’s got Bottas in his sights … no attempts to overtake just yet. Palmer’s day is done – he can go and have a chinwag with Nasr … Verstappen meanwhile, says he’s struggling with his back tyres. Hamilton just warned about his tyres again – and promptly has a crack at Bottas, who holds firm. “We can get you back to behind Nico with strategy” were the words that came over the radio. May have had something to do with that move.
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Lap 8 of 53: Rosberg has set the fastest lap in each of the last two circuits. Verstappen is making hay, he’s just blasted past Alonso and into ninth. Hamilton is again urged to be patient for the next five laps.
Lap 7 of 53: Jenson Button rolls back the years to pass Gutierrez and Magnussen and move up into … 16th.
Lap 6 of 53: Raikonnen is having a few problems … more on that when the issue becomes clearer.
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Lap 5 of 53: A number of replays of the start are being shown, it’s no clearer what happened to Hamilton but take nothing away from Vettel who showed considerable skill to thread in between the Mercedes.
Hamilton has just been told that the three cars in front of him are on super-soft tyres and that they will start to perish before his. “Patience.” In short.
Verstappen is up to 10th, Massa’s day is done.
Lap 4 of 53: Hamilton is all over Bottas but he can’t get past – Bottas has clearly got a bit of speed at his disposal in his Williams.
Lap 3 of 53: Rosberg, who must be delighted with the early proceedings, has just set the fastest lap. Verstappen is struggling meanwhile, he’s down in 11th. The race continues but there is a bit of tyre debris from Nasr’s crash.
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Lap 2 of 53: Hamilton is looking to pass Ricciardo, and he’s flown passed him and back into fifth. Bottas is now in his sights. Wowsers, that was some start! Ooof Nasr has gone after a prang with Palmer, who might not be much longer for the race.
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So Rosberg leads, from Vettel, then Raikonnen, Bottas and Ricciardo – Hamilton was engulfed! He’s down in sixth. What was I saying about cakewalks?
Lights out!
Vettel gets in and splits the Mercedes! A terrible start from Hamilton!
Not long to go now … Hamilton and Rosberg are both on soft tyres by the by.
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Just a reminder that there are 11, only 11!, corners here today so it’s very much one for the speed freaks. Another reminder that Hamilton is nine points clear from Rosberg in the overall standings.
Paddy Lowe is speaking now and gets a big bucket and pours cold water all over the idea that Mercedes will cruise to a comfortable 1-2. “It’s Formula One, there are always worries,” deadpans Paddy.
Worth noting the two Ferraris in third and fourth and hopeful of making a move early on. Or the tifosi certainly are …
On a separate note, props to Martin Brundle. I’d prefer to poke own eyes out than have to grab all those drivers for pre-race interviews … those drivers who palpably want nothing less than to do an interview.
An ‘interesting’ rendition of the Italian national anthem now.
Bernie Ecclestone has just been interviewed … “nothing to report from Bernie there,” was Martin Brundell’s verdict of his own interview. Can’t blame him.
Starting grid
For your perusal …
1. Hamilton. 2. Rosberg. 3. Vettel. 4. Raikonnen. 5. Bottas. 6. Ricciardo. 7. Verstappen. 8. Perez. 9. Hulkenberg. 10. Gutierrez. 11. Massa. 12. Alonso. 13. Wehrlein. 14. Button. 15. Sainz. 16. Kvyat. 17. Grosjean. 18. Nasr. 19. Ericsson. 20. Palmer. 21. Magnussen. 22. Ocon.
Having already effectively handed victory to Hamilton earlier I’m going to rapidly backtrack, for no other reason that the chaos we can expect at turn one today. It’s a long old way from the start to the first turn and Rosberg is not going to hold much back.
Pit-stops will also be key today and in particular whether to take one or two.
Courage beyond belief: 40 years ago, Niki Lauda returned to action 6 weeks after his fiery crash #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/8xwAVov7rP
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 4, 2016
And with half an hour to go until lights out, here’s a bit more reading for you – a lovely piece from Paul Weaver on Jenson Button’s imminent move behind the scenes at McLaren.
We may be anticipating a Lewis Hamilton cakewalk today but that’s not to say there isn’t interest elsewhere in the race. Not least Max Verstappen, who has had a gentle word in the ear from Charlie Whiting over his aggressive driving.
The talk of the town in Monza is of course the news that Jenson Button will not race for McLaren next year, although “retirement” is a word that appears to be banned. Still the veteran Brit is very much taking a back seat (pardon the pun) and tributes are flooding in as a result …
Hahahaah my Mate @JensonButton big respect! We will miss each other.👍👍 grande irmão muito… https://t.co/BbAzc8OZqY
— Felipe Massa (@MassaFelipe19) September 4, 2016
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Hello world! Welcome to the Italian Grand Prix where Lewis Hamilton is in raging form, going for a hat-trick of titles in Monza and a 50th career victory. He’s walking around with the sort of spring in his step that says he just can’t be beaten, even Nico Rosberg admits he’s eating dust and the bookmakers have Hamilton as a lengthy odds-on favourite. In qualifying Hamilton was several leagues apart … and with fate now well and truly tempted, perhaps we’ll have a classic on our hands.
Lights out is a 1pm BST but why not kick things off with Paul Weaver’s report from qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton’s utter domination here of his Mercedes team-mate, Nico Rosberg, could almost be described as bullying as he prepared for the Italian Grand Prix with his 56th pole. It was also his fifth pole position at Monza, which pulled him level with the record holders Juan Manuel Fangio and Ayrton Senna, and his third in a row here.
A helpless looking Rosberg was reduced to head-shaking amazement. “The problem was Lewis had his best qualifying for a long time,” he said.
In their first run in Q3 Hamilton was faster by three-tenths of a second. And in his last run he extended his advantage to almost half a second. He leads the world championship by nine points and is looking for his 50th career win on Sunday. He said: “I feel incredibly proud to be up amongst Senna and Juan Manuel. They were incredible drivers and I never thought in a million years my name would be mentioned in the same sentence as theirs, so I am very proud of that. I came with my A-game today, and particularly that last lap felt incredible.
