Rosberg powers to victory as Hamilton throws away Italian GP with poor start

Nico Rosberg won the Italian Grand Prix virtually unchallenged on Sunday after Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton wasted pole position with a poor start. The German took full advantage as championship leader Hamilton slipped to sixth before the first corner. Rosberg, who started second, took the early lead and cruised to his seventh win of the season and the first of his career at the storied Monza circuit, which has hosted more Formula One racing than any other track.

The start wasn’t great but it was still a great day for Mercedes and I’m proud to be a part of it

Lewis Hamilton

The win means Rosberg has cut Hamilton’s championship lead to two points with seven races remaining. Hamilton climbed his way back through the field to finish second. “It is a very special day for me, I’m very happy to finally win here. You guys are unbelievable, thank you very much and I’m going to enjoy this day,” Rosberg said afterwards. “It was all down to the start, I had an awesome start and it was all from there.” Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen crossed third and fourth, respectively.

rosberg