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Hamilton edged ahead
Lewis Hamilton reduced the championship deficit to teammate and championship rival Nico Rosberg to 22 points after beating the German to victory at the Italian Grand Prix. Things didn’t start very well for Hamilton with a poor getaway due to a software issue putting him down in fourth place by the time he arrived at turn one. The Brit soon started to regain lost position and was soon ahead of fast starting McLaren of Kevin Magnussen and the Williams of Felipe Massa.After the first round of pitstops, the gap between Lewis Hamilton and race leader Nico Rosberg stood at around one and a half seconds. At this moment, Mercedes instructed the chasing Hamilton to save his tyres and attack at the end of the race. Hamilton chose not to follow the instructions and instead gained over half a second over Rosberg on the next lap. Under pressure, Rosberg went straight into the first chicane, losing crucial time and eventually the race lead.25 seconds behind the Mercedes duo came the Williams of Felipe Massa who spend the majority of the race alone. Nonetheless, it was a great result for the Brazilian who returned to the podium for the first time since last year’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Ferrari didn’t have a good home race
Valtteri Bottas had a horrible start, but regained lost positions over the course of the race in his FW36 to finish fifth and elevate Williams to third in the championship ahead of Ferrari. The Prancing Horse had their worse force of the season, unfortunately at their home venue, with Kimi Raikkonen salvaging two points and Fernando Alonso retiring mid-race due to a mechanical issue.Daniel Ricciardo pitted late on lap 27 and on fresher tyres charged through the field to take fifth place ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel, who in turn, was the first on the runner to make a stop on lap 18. Sergio Perez quickly followed the German in the pits on lap 20 and used that advantage to finish in seventh place after a long duel with former teammate Jenson Button.
Magnussen keeps McLaren in front of Force India
Kevin Magnussen collected the final championship point after five seconds were added to his time for forcing Valtteri Bottas off the track at the first chicane. It’s the second race in a row where the Magnussen has been punished for the same reason. However, the sole point he scored keeps McLaren ahead of Force India in the constructors standings.Daniil Kvyat nearly avoided contact with Kimi Raikkonen after a break issue spectacularly sent him to the run off area at turn 1. He managed to continue the race to finish 11th. Nico Hulkenberg, who was the highest prime tyre starter, mysteriously pitted early on lap 19 and with worn out medium tyres at the end, he could only manage 12th.Pastor Maldonado crossed the chequered flag in 14th place ahead of Sauber’s Adrian Sutil and Lotus teammate Romain Grosjean. Kamui Kobayashi ensured that Caterham finished the race ahead of Marussia despite having a slower car than their Banbury based rivals.
