The Malta Independent 22 July 2026, Wednesday
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Lewis Hamilton cruises to his seventh win of the season at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza

Sunday, 6 September 2015, 15:35 Last update: about 12 years ago

Lewis Hamilton cruised to his seventh win of the season at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, and doubled his Formula One lead over Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, whose engine caught fire with two laps remaining.

However, Hamilton's victory was under question after stewards summoned Mercedes concerning tire pressures on both of their cars.

Hamilton's left rear tire pressure was 0.3 psi below the minimum, while Rosberg's was 1.1 too low.

"I wasn't aware of it," Hamilton said, adding that 0.3 psi "is not really a huge amount on one tire."

Otherwise, it was a golden weekend for Hamilton, who led every practice and started from pole position.

"I dont know if I've ever had a weekend like this," he said.

A potential challenge from Ferrari fizzled when Kimi Raikkonen stalled on the front row of the starting grid.

Hamilton finished 25 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the other Ferrari, while Felipe Massa crossed third, 47 seconds back.

Massa finished just three tenths of a second ahead of Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas.

"It's the best second-place I've ever had," said the four-time world champion Vettel, who raced for Ferrari for the first time at Monza. "The emotions on the podium are incredible."

Amid speculation that Monza might be removed from the circuit after its contract expires next season, Vettel made an emotional call to keep the race in Italy.

"If we take this race away from the calendar for any (poor) money reasons I think you are basically ripping our hearts out," said the German, who won twice at Monza with Red Bull and once with Toro Rosso before signing with Ferrari a year ago. "Because this (race) makes it so much more worthwhile. You look left, look right, and people are just happy to be part of it. And it makes our day. It's incredible."

If the result stands, Hamilton now leads Rosberg by 53 points with seven races remaining this season.

As thousands of red-clad Ferrari fans rushed out onto the track below, Hamilton was joined on the winner's podium by Star Wars creator George Lucas.

"This circuit is such a special one for me. I think it's the same for all the drivers," Hamilton said. "When you stand atop that podium you feel incredible pride and incredibly proud to be amongst the greatest who have ever stood up there. And you see a sea of fans in red. The sea of fans is just unlike anything I've seen."

With the 40th win of his career, Hamilton moved within one victory of his childhood idol Ayrton Senna and Vettel on the all-time list. The Briton also became the first driver to secure back-to-back wins at Monza since Damon Hill in 1993-94.

Hamilton had such a comfortable lead that he told his team midway through the race that he was turning his engine down.

But Mercedes must have been made aware of the tire pressure issue late in the race, because the team started to send worrisome messages to Hamilton via radio.

"We need to pull a gap," a Mercedes engineer told Hamilton. "Don't ask questions, just execute."

Vettel wasn't interested in being bumped up to the winner's spot courtesy of a time penalty to Hamilton.

"It's all about fairness and respect and he did a better job today so we have to respect that," Vettel said. "I was second on the podium and that's the emotions I got. I had a great car today but not good enough to win."

Raikkonen started on the front row for the first time since China in 2013 but wasted the opportunity by stalling in his grid position. The Finn eventually got going but dropped immediately to the back of the pack, before working his way back through the field to finish fifth.

Blocked immediately behind Raikkonen, Rosberg of Mercedes also lost ground at the start but pushed his way up to challenge Vettel for second place when his car failed.

It was a tough race for cash-strapped Lotus, with Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado stopping due to mechanical problems after just three laps.

During the singing of the Italian anthem before the race, fighter jets flew overhead leaving a trail of red, white and green smoke — the colors of the Italian flag. Italian Premier Matteo Renzi belted out the anthem while standing next to F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, who will decide Monza's fate.

There was more smoke — pure red — produced by Ferrari fans in the grandstand.

Also, drivers stood for a minute of silence to remember Justin Wilson, the British driver who died after debris struck his helmet in an IndyCar race last month.

F1 now heads to Asia for races in Singapore and Japan. The season ends in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 29.

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