Formula 1 returned to the iconic Monza circuit in Italy for the 12th round of the 2015 season.
It was the 66th Italian Grand Prix in the sport's history and the 65th time the race had taken place at the track.
Lewis Hamilton had a 28-point lead in the drivers' standings over Nico Rosberg prior to the race weekend, following the action-packed Belgian Grand Prix.
FP1
The first session of the race weekend got off to a busy start, with Sebastian Vettel, Will Stevens, Fernando Alonso, Felipe Nasr and Jolyon Palmer - replacing Romain Grosjean at Lotus - first out on track.
Max Verstappen set the opening timed lap with a 1:31.817. Mercedes soon hit the front, with Hamilton leading the way at the 25-minute mark. The red flags emerged a few minutes later after Carlos Sainz Jr beached his Toro Rosso in the gravel at Parabolica.
There was a lull in the action when the session resumed, before drivers started to return to the circuit. Hamilton and Rosberg briefly traded fastest lap times, before the championship leader put in a 1:24.670 to move ahead by three over four tenths of a second. It proved to be an unbeatable time and he ended FP1 fastest.
Behind Rosberg, Vettel was third - despite a late spin - and Nico Hulkenberg was fourth. Sergio Perez, Kimi Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Pastor Maldonado and Nasr completed the top 10. Palmer was 14th, while Alonso and Jenson Button's running was cut short due to engine changes.
FP2
Second practice got off to a quiet start, with Stevens, Alonso and Roberto Merhi first to exit the pit lane. Vettel and Raikkonen took turns at the top of the leaderboard early on, before Hulkenberg joined the fun.
Rosberg and Hamilton moved to the front on the medium compound, before the soft tyres were fitted and the times tumbled. It was an eventful session, with trips through the gravel, off-track excursions and mechanical problems.
Hamilton ended practice two fastest with a 1:24.279, just 0.021 seconds ahead of Rosberg. The German was unable to beat his team-mate, switching focus to longer runs. Vettel was third, ahead of Perez, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen and Grosjean.
Maldonado, Bottas and Massa completed the top 10. Nasr and Marcus Ericsson were 11th and 12th for Sauber, with Ricciardo, Verstappen, Sainz Jr and Alonso next up. Button and Kvyat were well off the pace in 19th and 20th.
FP3
Overnight rain limited running in the early stages of final practice, with intermediate tyres being for installation laps. Button, Kvyat and Rosberg were the first to exit the pit lane and take to the circuit.
Drivers struggled on the slippery track, with several off-track excursions and trips down the Turn 1 escape road. Sainz Jr set the opening timed lap with a 1:36.405, but the benchmark quickly lowered. The Toro Rosso rookie was also the first to switch to slicks mid-way through FP3.
A mix of soft and medium tyres were used early on, before all of the drivers switched to the option compound for final qualifying simulations. Hamilton ended the session fastest with a 1:24.544, finishing two and a half tenths ahead of Vettel. Rosberg was third, ahead of Bottas, Massa, Maldonado, Raikkonen and Perez.
Ericsson and Grosjean completed the top 10. Button, who finished 14th, reported his car was pulling to the left under braking. Meanwhile Ricciardo's session was cut short after a problem with his new engine.
Qualifying
Q1
The slowest five drivers were eliminated from the pole position fight in the opening segment of qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. Stevens and Merhi were the first on track for Manor, with Hamilton also exiting the pit lane early on.
Mercedes was forced to switch to the old-spec Belgian GP engine on Rosberg's car prior to qualifying. Stevens put in the opening timed lap with a 1:28.254, but was quickly displaced by Hulkenberg - despite the German being badly held up by Ericsson at the final corner.
Hamilton then moved to the top of the timesheets, before improving his benchmark to a 1:24.251. Despite the majority of the field switching to the soft tyre compound, the championship leader remained fastest in Q1, with Rosberg three and a half tenths further back.
Raikkonen, Perez, Hulkenberg and Bottas were next up. Vettel, Nasr, Ericsson and Grosjean completed the top 10. Ricciardo just made it through in 14th, while Button Alonso, Stevens and Merhi were eliminated. Verstappen exited the pits with one minute to go but lost his engine cover at the Curva Grande. He failed to set a time.
Q2
The second segment of qualifying decided who would be competing for pole position in the top 10 shoot-out. The 15-minute session got off to a quiet start, with Rosberg and Bottas first on track.
Rosberg put in the opening lap time with a 1:24.128, but his attempt was crushed by Hamilton's 1:23.383. All drivers used the soft tyre in Q2, giving us our first real look at the pecking order in qualifying trim.
Raikkonen and Vettel split the Mercedes drivers with their debut runs. Hamilton ended the session quickest, but Rosberg was unable to fight back and had to settle for fourth, behind the Ferrari duo.
Massa, Bottas, Perez, Grosjean, Ericsson and Hulkenberg all made it through to the final segment of qualifying. Maldonado just missed out and was eliminated, alongside Nasr, Sainz Jr, Kvyat and Ricciardo, who failed to set a time.
Q3
The final 12-minute qualifying segment decided the top 10 on the grid for the 12th round of the 2015 F1 season. It was a fairly slow start, but the pace soon picked up. Hulkenberg put in the first timed lap with a 1:25.317.
Rosberg briefly went fastest before he was displaced by Massa. Hamilton moved to the front with a 1:23.397, with Vettel and Raikkonen going second and third. Hulkenberg reported a loss of power and stopped at the pit lane entry.
After a brief lull in proceedings, nine drivers returned to the track to battle for pole position. Hulkenberg's session was cut short due to his mechanical problem. Hamilton was unable to improve on his final attempt but still scored his 11th pole position of 2015.
Raikkonen displaced Vettel to complete the front row, with Rosberg only managing fourth. Massa and Bottas were next up, ahead of Perez and Grosjean. Hulkenberg slipped to ninth, with Ericsson in 10th.
The Race
Blue skies and beautiful sunshine welcomed drivers to Monza on Sunday. Penalties produced a mixed up grid for the Italian Grand Prix, as F1 returned to racing at the Temple of Speed.
Hamilton lined up on pole position, with Raikkonen, Vettel and Rosberg next up. Could Ferrari take the fight to Mercedes on home soil?
The revs rose, the lights went out and the 12th round of the 2015 season got underway. Off the line, Hamilton had a strong start to lead the field into Turn 1. Raikkonen was slow away and dropped right to the back of the field.
Several drivers cut the first chicane and had to give back positions, including Maldonado. Massa, Bottas and Perez made strong progress on the opening lap while Rosberg fell to sixth. Button was up to 10th and Sainz Jr jumped up to 11th.
Rosberg moved ahead of Perez into the opening chicane on lap two, while Verstappen pitted to serve his drive-through for shedding his engine cover in qualifying. Maldonado and Grosjean were both forced to retire on the second tour of Monza due to damage, while Nasr pitted with a puncture but returned to the circuit.
Raikkonen started to fight back and was up to 11th by lap four, after passing Ricciardo on the run to the Parabolica. He had to take to the escape road at the second chicane on lap four after a failed overtake on Sainz Jr, but he moved into the top 10 a few laps later.
His next target was Button and the McLaren driver proved to be easy prey, with his Ferrari storming up to ninth. The Englishman quickly dropped behind Sainz Jr and the two Red Bull drivers. At the front of the field, his countryman Hamilton had a 3.9 second lead by the seventh lap.
Sainz Jr was given a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage by going off the circuit. He pitted on lap 11 and served it, returning to the track on a new set of soft tyres. Rosberg closed in on Bottas, despite being warned about higher brake wear, and attempted a move on the Finn on lap 14 at Turn 1.
He failed to find a way through and had to back off. Further back, Button and Verstappen battled closely for 12th, but the Toro Rosso driver made the move stick and started to race off into the distance.
Rosberg was the first front-runner to stop on lap 19, moving onto the medium tyre, and was followed in by Hulkenberg. Massa pitted one lap later but he emerged behind Rosberg, with the undercut working well for Mercedes. Williams waited until the 22nd tour to pit Bottas and he returned to the track in seventh.
Vettel stopped for a fresh set of medium compound tyres on lap 26, with Mercedes reacting and pitting Hamilton on the following lap - at the half-way mark of the race. Raikkonen switched tyres on lap 29 but his cautious entry to the pits almost caught out a Manor who was following the Ferrari driver in.
Ricciardo was the last driver to stop on lap 31, switching to softs and emerging in 10th. Rosberg started to close on Vettel while Raikkonen passed Hulkenberg for seventh. Verstappen, Ricciardo and Sainz Jr all completed their final stints on the soft compound, with the former easily passing Nasr around the outside at Turn 1 on lap 38.
The gap between Vettel and Rosberg was three seconds by lap 44, but both were well over 20 seconds behind Hamilton. Alonso quickly caught up to team-mate Button but pitted with a problem. The Spaniard was forced to retire. Hamilton was told over radio to "pull a gap" and not ask questions on lap 48.
There was drama with two laps remaining. As Raikkonen passed Perez for sixth, Rosberg retired from third in dramatic fashion with flames emerging from the back of his car. He pulled off track at the second chicane and exited the race.
Hamilton took the chequered flag in first place to secure his seventh win of the season and third at Monza. He finished 25 seconds ahead of Vettel, with Massa just holding off team-mate Bottas in third. Raikkonen was fifth in the second Ferrari.
Perez, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Ericsson and Kvyat completed the top 10. Sainz Jr, Verstappen, Nasr, Button, Stevens and Merhi were next up. Rosberg and Alonso were classified in the results but failed to finish. Grosjean and Maldonado also retired.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Lewis Hamilton had a 28-point lead in the drivers' standings over Nico Rosberg prior to the race weekend, following the action-packed Belgian Grand Prix.
FP1
The first session of the race weekend got off to a busy start, with Sebastian Vettel, Will Stevens, Fernando Alonso, Felipe Nasr and Jolyon Palmer - replacing Romain Grosjean at Lotus - first out on track.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
Max Verstappen set the opening timed lap with a 1:31.817. Mercedes soon hit the front, with Hamilton leading the way at the 25-minute mark. The red flags emerged a few minutes later after Carlos Sainz Jr beached his Toro Rosso in the gravel at Parabolica.
There was a lull in the action when the session resumed, before drivers started to return to the circuit. Hamilton and Rosberg briefly traded fastest lap times, before the championship leader put in a 1:24.670 to move ahead by three over four tenths of a second. It proved to be an unbeatable time and he ended FP1 fastest.
Behind Rosberg, Vettel was third - despite a late spin - and Nico Hulkenberg was fourth. Sergio Perez, Kimi Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Pastor Maldonado and Nasr completed the top 10. Palmer was 14th, while Alonso and Jenson Button's running was cut short due to engine changes.
FP2
Second practice got off to a quiet start, with Stevens, Alonso and Roberto Merhi first to exit the pit lane. Vettel and Raikkonen took turns at the top of the leaderboard early on, before Hulkenberg joined the fun.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
Rosberg and Hamilton moved to the front on the medium compound, before the soft tyres were fitted and the times tumbled. It was an eventful session, with trips through the gravel, off-track excursions and mechanical problems.
Hamilton ended practice two fastest with a 1:24.279, just 0.021 seconds ahead of Rosberg. The German was unable to beat his team-mate, switching focus to longer runs. Vettel was third, ahead of Perez, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen and Grosjean.
Maldonado, Bottas and Massa completed the top 10. Nasr and Marcus Ericsson were 11th and 12th for Sauber, with Ricciardo, Verstappen, Sainz Jr and Alonso next up. Button and Kvyat were well off the pace in 19th and 20th.
FP3
Overnight rain limited running in the early stages of final practice, with intermediate tyres being for installation laps. Button, Kvyat and Rosberg were the first to exit the pit lane and take to the circuit.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Drivers struggled on the slippery track, with several off-track excursions and trips down the Turn 1 escape road. Sainz Jr set the opening timed lap with a 1:36.405, but the benchmark quickly lowered. The Toro Rosso rookie was also the first to switch to slicks mid-way through FP3.
A mix of soft and medium tyres were used early on, before all of the drivers switched to the option compound for final qualifying simulations. Hamilton ended the session fastest with a 1:24.544, finishing two and a half tenths ahead of Vettel. Rosberg was third, ahead of Bottas, Massa, Maldonado, Raikkonen and Perez.
Ericsson and Grosjean completed the top 10. Button, who finished 14th, reported his car was pulling to the left under braking. Meanwhile Ricciardo's session was cut short after a problem with his new engine.
Qualifying
Q1
The slowest five drivers were eliminated from the pole position fight in the opening segment of qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. Stevens and Merhi were the first on track for Manor, with Hamilton also exiting the pit lane early on.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
Mercedes was forced to switch to the old-spec Belgian GP engine on Rosberg's car prior to qualifying. Stevens put in the opening timed lap with a 1:28.254, but was quickly displaced by Hulkenberg - despite the German being badly held up by Ericsson at the final corner.
Hamilton then moved to the top of the timesheets, before improving his benchmark to a 1:24.251. Despite the majority of the field switching to the soft tyre compound, the championship leader remained fastest in Q1, with Rosberg three and a half tenths further back.
Raikkonen, Perez, Hulkenberg and Bottas were next up. Vettel, Nasr, Ericsson and Grosjean completed the top 10. Ricciardo just made it through in 14th, while Button Alonso, Stevens and Merhi were eliminated. Verstappen exited the pits with one minute to go but lost his engine cover at the Curva Grande. He failed to set a time.
Q2
The second segment of qualifying decided who would be competing for pole position in the top 10 shoot-out. The 15-minute session got off to a quiet start, with Rosberg and Bottas first on track.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Rosberg put in the opening lap time with a 1:24.128, but his attempt was crushed by Hamilton's 1:23.383. All drivers used the soft tyre in Q2, giving us our first real look at the pecking order in qualifying trim.
Raikkonen and Vettel split the Mercedes drivers with their debut runs. Hamilton ended the session quickest, but Rosberg was unable to fight back and had to settle for fourth, behind the Ferrari duo.
Massa, Bottas, Perez, Grosjean, Ericsson and Hulkenberg all made it through to the final segment of qualifying. Maldonado just missed out and was eliminated, alongside Nasr, Sainz Jr, Kvyat and Ricciardo, who failed to set a time.
Q3
The final 12-minute qualifying segment decided the top 10 on the grid for the 12th round of the 2015 F1 season. It was a fairly slow start, but the pace soon picked up. Hulkenberg put in the first timed lap with a 1:25.317.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Rosberg briefly went fastest before he was displaced by Massa. Hamilton moved to the front with a 1:23.397, with Vettel and Raikkonen going second and third. Hulkenberg reported a loss of power and stopped at the pit lane entry.
After a brief lull in proceedings, nine drivers returned to the track to battle for pole position. Hulkenberg's session was cut short due to his mechanical problem. Hamilton was unable to improve on his final attempt but still scored his 11th pole position of 2015.
Raikkonen displaced Vettel to complete the front row, with Rosberg only managing fourth. Massa and Bottas were next up, ahead of Perez and Grosjean. Hulkenberg slipped to ninth, with Ericsson in 10th.
The Race
Blue skies and beautiful sunshine welcomed drivers to Monza on Sunday. Penalties produced a mixed up grid for the Italian Grand Prix, as F1 returned to racing at the Temple of Speed.
Hamilton lined up on pole position, with Raikkonen, Vettel and Rosberg next up. Could Ferrari take the fight to Mercedes on home soil?
The revs rose, the lights went out and the 12th round of the 2015 season got underway. Off the line, Hamilton had a strong start to lead the field into Turn 1. Raikkonen was slow away and dropped right to the back of the field.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
Several drivers cut the first chicane and had to give back positions, including Maldonado. Massa, Bottas and Perez made strong progress on the opening lap while Rosberg fell to sixth. Button was up to 10th and Sainz Jr jumped up to 11th.
Rosberg moved ahead of Perez into the opening chicane on lap two, while Verstappen pitted to serve his drive-through for shedding his engine cover in qualifying. Maldonado and Grosjean were both forced to retire on the second tour of Monza due to damage, while Nasr pitted with a puncture but returned to the circuit.
Raikkonen started to fight back and was up to 11th by lap four, after passing Ricciardo on the run to the Parabolica. He had to take to the escape road at the second chicane on lap four after a failed overtake on Sainz Jr, but he moved into the top 10 a few laps later.
His next target was Button and the McLaren driver proved to be easy prey, with his Ferrari storming up to ninth. The Englishman quickly dropped behind Sainz Jr and the two Red Bull drivers. At the front of the field, his countryman Hamilton had a 3.9 second lead by the seventh lap.
Sainz Jr was given a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage by going off the circuit. He pitted on lap 11 and served it, returning to the track on a new set of soft tyres. Rosberg closed in on Bottas, despite being warned about higher brake wear, and attempted a move on the Finn on lap 14 at Turn 1.
He failed to find a way through and had to back off. Further back, Button and Verstappen battled closely for 12th, but the Toro Rosso driver made the move stick and started to race off into the distance.
Rosberg was the first front-runner to stop on lap 19, moving onto the medium tyre, and was followed in by Hulkenberg. Massa pitted one lap later but he emerged behind Rosberg, with the undercut working well for Mercedes. Williams waited until the 22nd tour to pit Bottas and he returned to the track in seventh.
Vettel stopped for a fresh set of medium compound tyres on lap 26, with Mercedes reacting and pitting Hamilton on the following lap - at the half-way mark of the race. Raikkonen switched tyres on lap 29 but his cautious entry to the pits almost caught out a Manor who was following the Ferrari driver in.
Ricciardo was the last driver to stop on lap 31, switching to softs and emerging in 10th. Rosberg started to close on Vettel while Raikkonen passed Hulkenberg for seventh. Verstappen, Ricciardo and Sainz Jr all completed their final stints on the soft compound, with the former easily passing Nasr around the outside at Turn 1 on lap 38.
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| © Octane Photographic |
The gap between Vettel and Rosberg was three seconds by lap 44, but both were well over 20 seconds behind Hamilton. Alonso quickly caught up to team-mate Button but pitted with a problem. The Spaniard was forced to retire. Hamilton was told over radio to "pull a gap" and not ask questions on lap 48.
There was drama with two laps remaining. As Raikkonen passed Perez for sixth, Rosberg retired from third in dramatic fashion with flames emerging from the back of his car. He pulled off track at the second chicane and exited the race.
Hamilton took the chequered flag in first place to secure his seventh win of the season and third at Monza. He finished 25 seconds ahead of Vettel, with Massa just holding off team-mate Bottas in third. Raikkonen was fifth in the second Ferrari.
Perez, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Ericsson and Kvyat completed the top 10. Sainz Jr, Verstappen, Nasr, Button, Stevens and Merhi were next up. Rosberg and Alonso were classified in the results but failed to finish. Grosjean and Maldonado also retired.
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