F1: Rosberg Charges to victory at Monza

Boosting to victory in the shadows of the banking of the legendary Autodromo Nazionale di Monza for the first time meant as much to the 31 year old racer, as a having a Ferrari on the podium in Italy did to the home crowds.

“It means so much to me to win here at Monza. The crowd were unbelievable over the entire weekend and especially during the podium ceremony,” explained a delighted Nico. “This win is incredibly special for me and standing up there and singing with thousands of people gave me goosebumps.

“The race went perfectly for me and after a good start I was able manage the gap between myself and the car behind. Our car has been amazing this weekend and I extend a massive thank you to the whole team. I am feeling great, the race is on with Lewis and it is going to be a great battle. I don't see waves [of dominance] I see race by race and I am just happy to win this one here, and then look forward to the next Grand Prix.”

“It's tough to take when you lose a race because of such a poor start. From there it was just about managing the tyres during the first stint and I was delighted to get back up to second after the first stop,” explained Lewis. “I kept pushing as hard as I could and came within 15 seconds of Nico when we crossed the line. I'm happy with my performance this weekend but after such an incredible qualifying yesterday it was disappointing to be unable to capitalise on the P1 start I had.

“It is definitely not like Christmas Day where you are super happy. We had been smashing the weekend and then less than a tenth of a second decides the race that is tough for everyone, when you think of where we have come from it is not so bad. We are still leading the world championship. We have had so many things go against us on our side of the garage and still to come back and be where we are. There are still lots of great things that can happen going forward.”

Race result:

1    Nico Rosberg            Mercedes        1h17m28.089s
2    Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes        15.070s
3    Sebastian Vettel        Ferrari            20.990s
4    Kimi Raikkonen            Ferrari    27.561s
5    Daniel Ricciardo        Red Bull/Renault    45.295s
6    Valtteri Bottas            Williams/Mercedes    51.015s
7    Max Verstappen        Red Bull/Renault    54.236s
8    Sergio Perez            Force India/Mercedes    1m04.954s
9    Felipe Massa            Williams/Mercedes    1m05.617s
10    Nico Hulkenberg        Force India/Mercedes    1m18.656s
11    Romain Grosjean        Haas/Ferrari        1 Lap
12    Jenson Button            McLaren/Honda        1 Lap
13    Esteban Gutierrez        Haas/Ferrari        1 Lap
14    Fernando Alonso        McLaren/Honda        1 Lap
15    Carlos Sainz            Toro Rosso/Ferrari    1 Lap
16    Marcus Ericsson        Sauber/Ferrari        1 Lap
17    Kevin Magnussen        Renault            1 Lap
18    Esteban Ocon            Manor/Mercedes    2 Laps
-    Daniil Kvyat            Toro Rosso/Ferrari    Retirement
-    Pascal Wehrlein        Manor/Mercedes    Retirement
-    Jolyon Palmer            Renault            Collision
-    Felipe Nasr            Sauber/Ferrari        Collision