'Lewis Hamilton gifted Nico Rosberg the Italian GP', says Monday papers
Papers feel Monza race was handed to Rosberg by his team-mate.
By Simeon Gholam
Last Updated: 05/09/16 1:08pm
Lewis Hamilton 'gifted' the Italian Grand Prix to Mercedes team-mate and championship rival Nico Rosberg, declared Monday's papers after the German stormed to victory at Monza.
The British driver had dominated most of the weekend at Monza and qualified on pole, before a nightmare start off the grid saw him drop to sixth as Rosberg built up an unassailable lead at the front.
"Once again Hamilton blitzed his opponents on Friday and Saturday only to mess up on Sunday," wrote Paul Weaver of the Guardian.
"He gifted the Italian Grand Prix to Nico Rosberg, his Mercedes team-mate and only championship rival, by making his fourth poor start of the season following duff getaways in Australia, Bahrain and Canada."
Similar thoughts were echoed by Jonathan McEvoy in the Daily Mail, who wrote: "The damage was done as the lights went out. Hamilton got off the line in the first split second as well as anyone else. But almost immediately he was like a man wading through treacle. The rest of the field closed on the world champion left, right and centre.
"From pole position, Hamilton plunged to sixth by the first corner, and the script had been ripped apart. He was meant to have become the seventh successive pole-sitter to convert qualifying superiority into victory here. Then this slow-motion mess."
Daniel Johnson of the Telegraph, meanwhile, praised Rosberg for his front-running ability this season.
"This was Rosberg's seventh win of the season and the seventh time this year he has taken victory without making an overtake, other than at the start," he wrote. "The German is a strong frontrunner and has taken his chances when they have presented themselves.
"Slower than Hamilton all weekend, this was more than he could have hoped for. And the result is he trails by just two points in the drivers' championship."
Don't miss the F1 Report for the analysis of the Italian GP. The Telegraph's Daniel Johnson and former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley join Natalie Pinkham in the studio at 8.30pm on Wednesday on Sky Sports F1.
