Hamilton triumphs in Italy, leads title race
Lewis Hamilton took the lead in the world championship after comfortably winning the Italian Grand Prix ahead of teammate Valteri Bottas and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel on Sunday.
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Pole-sitter Hamilton capped a perfect weekend, similar to last week’s Belgium Grand Prix and went unchallenged during the 53 laps of the Monza circuit. The Mercedes driver won the race more than four seconds ahead of Bottas.
The 32-year old triple world champion, who broke Michael Schumacher’s qualifying record on Saturday by registering his 69th pole position, registered the 59th win of his career and took a three-point lead in the championship ahead of Vettel.
Having won in Belgium last Sunday, Hamilton also became the first driver to score back-to-back victories this year. It was Mercedes's third one-two this season and the team's 39th overall.
Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo, who started 16th on the grid, took an impressive fourth, five seconds behind Vettel. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen finished fifth ahead of Force India's Esteban Ocon, the Williams duo of Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa and Force India's Sergio Perez. Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen claimed the final points place as he finished 10th.
It was a disappointing race for McLaren Honda with both its drivers, former world champion Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne retiring from the race.
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