Lewis Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday to open up a big lead in the Formula One title race, but had to survive a stewards’ investigation before the result was confirmed.
Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates his victory in the Italian F1 Grand Prix in Monza.
Mercedes were investigated on the grounds the tyres were below the minimum permitted pressure.
However the stewards allowed Hamilton to keep his victory after ruling Mercedes had followed safe operating procedures.
Breaking – stewards decide to take no further action regarding Mercedes tyre pressures during #ItalianGP. #F1 pic.twitter.com/WQ8JDtt3Xx
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 6, 2015
Hamilton when faced with claims of below minimum start pressure recommended by Pirelli stated that it was not his job. “I don’t know what to say about it, it’s not my job,” said the Briton, He added; “Today I’ve been so happy with how the car has been in the race. “Formula One is about running to the bare minimum. For whatever reason today, 0.3psi – if that’s what it was – 0.3psi… It makes no difference to the car, particularly on one tyre. I’m sure Pirelli could prove it. That’s not the reason we won.”
HAMILTON: “F1 is about running to the maximum. That’s what we do. We won today because we were quickest” #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/bG71Yxl6d8 — Formula 1 (@F1) September 6, 2015
Unbelievable weekend here in #Monza! Thank you to the team for making sure the car is amazing! #TeamLH #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/n1xLMVPcQI
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) September 6, 2015
Hamilton finished over 25 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, with Felipe Massa completing the podium for Williams.
Mercedes teammate and championship challenger Nico Rosberg was forced to retire when his engine blew with two laps to go as he challenged Vettel for second place.
The win means Hamilton now leads with a 53-points advantage in the drivers’ world championship with seven rounds of the 19-race championship remaining.
2015 Driver Standings
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Meanwhile Williams’ Valtteri Bottas finished fourth and Kimi Raikkonen fifth after a strong recovery drive.
Force India‘s B-spec car continued to impress with Sergio Perez finishing sixth at Monza, one place clear of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.
It moved the Silverstone-based team back ahead of Lotus into fifth place in the constructors’ championship, after Lotus’s race lasted just a couple of laps.
Red Bull‘s Daniel Ricciardo recovered from starting 19th after a 25-place grid penalty for changing engine elements to finish eighth with team-mate Daniil Kvyat 10th.
Sauber‘s Marcus Ericsson scored points for the third successive race to finish ninth.
Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado both suffered contact at Turn 1, with Grosjean pulling off track and Maldonado recovering to the pits and parking the car in the garage.
Italian Grand Prix Race Results
See full Italian Grand Prix Race results
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