Hamilton's cruises to his fourth victory at Monza
Lewis Hamilton easily wins the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. It’s his 59th Grand Prix victory in 201st Formula One start. It’s also his sixth victory in 2017 and he’s now the championship leader ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who finished third today.
Valtteri Bottas doubles up Mercedes’ celebration with their third 1-2 finish this season. Mercedes cars were class of their own, building more than half a minute advantage over third-placed Vettel.
Marcedes drivers were class of their own at Monza
Lewis Hamilton started from pole, for the 69th time in a career, easily defending a lead on the opening lap. Two youngsters who started next to him, Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon, swapped their places after the start. Few laps later, both lost positions to Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel.
On lap 3, Max Verstappen suffered a front-right puncture after a contact with Felipe Massa in turn 1. The Dutchman limped to the pits for the repair and returned to action at the back of the field. He later fought back to tenth place.
Max Verstappen’s car after a contact with Felipe Massa
The leading trio was untouchable while Kimi Raikkonen was in the sixth place, behind Ocon and Stroll. Raikkonen was first to pit on lap 15, changing from supersoft to soft tyres. He gained one position on lap 18 when Ocon and Stroll entered the pits. On lap 27, Raikkonen attacked Ocon and jumped in front of him in turn 1.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was last to change tyres, returning to fifth place on lap 38. Three laps later, he successfully attacked Raikkonen in turn 1, progressing to P4. To remind you, Ricciardo started 16th on the grid.
Esteban Ocon (Force India) finished sixth, ahead of Williams duo Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa. Sergio Perez (Force India) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) completed the top 10.
Check the full results of the Italian Grand Prix
After thirteen races, Hamilton has 238 points on his account, three more than Vettel. Bottas is third with 197 points. The next championship round is the Singapore Grand Prix on September 17.
Photos: mercedesamgf1.com,
