Rosberg owns up to mistake after trying to increase his pace; German's title advantage cut to 22 points by Hamilton's Monza win; Mercedes dismiss conspiracy theory Rosberg's mistake was deliberate
Monday 8 September 2014 15:33, UK
Lewis Hamilton has hinted he suspected Nico Rosberg would crack if he could apply pressure on his title rival in the Italian GP.
Hamilton has closed to within 22 points of his Mercedes team-mate in the Drivers' World Championship after capitalising on a mistake by the German to claim his second career victory at Monza, F1's venerable cathedral of speed.
Ignoring his race crew's advice to ease off in his pursuit of Rosberg in order to save his tyres for a late charge, Hamilton suddenly produced a blistering turn of speed after the first round of pit-stops to close within half a second of the sister Mercedes. The burst appeared to destabilise the World Championship leader, with Hamilton reclaiming the lead of the race as Rosberg missed the chicane - by accident rather than, as some ludicrious conspiracy theorists suggested, by deliberate order as payback for the Shenanigans of Spa - and slowly navigated his way through the safety bollards before returning to the track.
Explaining why he opted to turn a deaf ear to his crew's suggestion, Hamilton cited a similar mistake Rosberg, previously lauded for his mental strength, had made in Montreal.
"All those experiences you have, like Canada, you know that if you apply the pressure that it is a possibility," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. "You never know if it’s going to happen, but all you can do is try.
"I knew that this was the best time to put pressure on him. I did it a couple of races ago and he didn't seem to like it."
Speaking in the post-race press conference after finishing second, Rosberg admitted that he had felt pressurised by Hamilton's charge.
"Lewis was quick coming from behind, so I had to up my pace and then as a result I just made a mistake," he conceded. "Lewis was quicker this weekend, so he deserved the win."
In addition to his error in Montreal, when Rosberg was permitted by race stewards to keep his lead despite cutting the chicane as Hamilton prepared to pounce, the German also slid off when under pressure from Williams' Valtteri Bottas in Austria and, more contentiously, effectively closed down qualifying in Monaco when he locked up and headed down an escape road.
"When you are in a race nothing really surprises you," added Hamilton. "I wanted to apply pressure. I knew that if I got to the end and tried to apply the pressure then I wouldn't be able to get past. When the tyres were good, I wanted to use them up and apply the pressure – I've done it in a couple of other races and it’s been proved to work quite well."
Hamilton, however, did suffer a nasty surprise at the start of the race when the start mode function on his W05 failed. "We still don't fully understand it but somehow the system got itself trapped into the wrong mode," confirmed team boss Paddy Lowe.
As a result, Hamilton stumbled off the line, handing the lead to Rosberg and falling behind both Felipe Massa and Kevin Magnussen before launching one of his trademark charges back to the front.
"Any victory is satisfying but it’s a great, great feeling," he said. "I knew it was a long, long race and I was so determined to catch up. Winning from the start is a great feeling but making your way through is even better."
Asked about his championship prospects, Hamilton added: "It's clear it's going to be very, very hard, so one step at a time. I really need to have some clean weekends."
