Race underway at 1pm; Hamilton on pole, Vettel to start from sixth
Saturday 30 September 2017 09:08, UK
Mercedes believe Sunday's Italian GP is a 'must-win' race for the team in their championship fight against Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton seeks to complete a perfect weekend at Monza.
An emotional Hamilton broke the all-time record for most pole positions in F1 when he beat the field in qualifying on Saturday.
Championship rival Sebastian Vettel endured a torrid time in the rain but will be promoted to start from sixth due to grid penalties against Red Bull pair Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
Updated provisional starting grid for the Italian GP
With the next round of races, especially F1's next stop in Singapore, not expected to favour their car, Hamilton and Mercedes know they must make their advantage over Ferrari count on Sunday afternoon.
"If the race is dry, and I heard that it is, it's definitely going to help," Hamilton said of his buffer to Vettel. "You've got the Force India and Williams that both should be quick on the straight with the Mercedes engines, and obviously Valtteri [Bottas].
"So hopefully it will make it a bit of a harder day for the Ferraris. But I've just got to look forwards and keep my foot down and just go for it.
"I have no idea how it's going to go but I'm going to try to make sure it's one of the best days ever."
On the back of a subdued weekend at Spa, Valtteri Bottas, still to be confirmed as Hamilton's team-mate for 2018 as haggling over his contract continues, struggled again.
The Finn was over two seconds slower than Hamilton in qualifying but will line up on the second row due to the grid demotions against the two Red Bulls.
"The main thing for me is to get past the Force India and Williams as quickly as possible," said Bottas. "That's going to be the main goal at the beginning of the race.
"My long runs in practice were good and we should have a strong car in the race. Even though it looks pretty bad on paper, with me in sixth, it's not that bad. I'll be on the second row and still ahead of the Ferraris."
Mercedes enjoy the advantage on Ferrari's home turf
Monza is considered to be the last high-speed track F1 will visit this season and, somewhat ironically given it is host of Ferrari's home race, appears to be the only circuit remaining this year which will offer Mercedes a clear advantage.
While the Silver Arrows and Scuderia have proved evenly matched over the course of the season, the contrasting characteristics of their cars has meant that on a race-by-race basis the season has also been punctuated by both teams enjoying clear superiority at certain circuits - Ferrari at Hungary and Monaco, for instance, while Mercedes were unbeatable at Silverstone.
So if this is the last track on the calendar this year to offer the world champions a distinct advantage, Mercedes need to make it count - especially with Singapore, and its tight and twisty circuit almost certain to suit Ferrari and Red Bull over Mercedes, F1's next destination.
"Mercedes really has to win here with Hamilton number one and Bottas number two if we want to really work for this championship - because Ferrari team and drivers were a little quicker in Spa," Niki Lauda, the Mercedes non-executive chairman, told Sky F1. "Hamilton won the race only because of him.
"If we cannot change things here, going to Singapore where we're going to lose for sure, then the battle will be over earlier than we expect."
Official starting grid for the Italian GP
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2) Lance Stroll, Williams
3) Esteban Ocon, Force India
4) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
5) Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
6) Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
7) Felipe Massa, Williams
8) Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso
9) Kevin Magnussen, Haas
10) Sergio Perez, Force India
11) Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
12) Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber
13) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
14) Nico Hulkenberg, Renault
15) Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso
16) Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
17) Jolyon Palmer, Renault
18) Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren
19) Fernando Alonso, McLaren
20) Romain Grosjean, Haas
