Rosberg capitalizes on Hamilton’s slow start, wins Italian Grand Prix
Ryan Joseph Ramos September 4, 2016
Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the first time in four races, but fellow Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg capitalized on a slow start to secure the win at the 2016 Italian Grand Prix.
With the win, Rosberg’s second in a row, he moves within 2 points of Hamilton in the drivers’ standings. This is Rosberg’s seventh win this season, which is one more than Hamilton’s total. It is also the German driver’s 21st career win.
While many of the fans who were at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza wanted a Ferrari win, not all was lost. The duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were able to salvage a P3 and P4 finish, respectively.
Ferrari has yet to secure a victory in any race this season. Outside the Mercedes drivers, only Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has been able to claim victory in a race.
The 1-2 finish, Mercedes’ fourth of the season, puts the team 208 points ahead of second-place Red Bull in the team standings. Ferrari is 11 points behind Red Bull for third place so far.
“The race went perfectly for me,” said Rosberg, “and after a good start I was able manage the gap between myself and the car behind.” He added that he is looking forward to the street race in Singapore, which was the team’s weakest showing in 2015.
Hamilton lamented the poor start, but was still happy with his performance during the weekend. For sure, he and the team will review the start. Still, he was able to recover to snag second place, which was not an easy feat.
Mercedes-Benz motorsport chief Toto Wolff, commenting on Hamilton’s start, said that those things are more obvious when seen from the front row.
“Lewis said on the radio that it was his fault but he also followed all his procedures in a good way – it’s simply not an easy thing to get right and there are a lot of different factors at play,” added Wolff.
The next race is the 2016 Singapore Grand Prix, which is scheduled for the night of September 18th.
