Hamilton deserved victory says Rosberg

Nico Rosberg had the opportunity to extend his Formula One World Championship lead in Italy.

Despite his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton dominating the weekend, the Brit’s misfortune continued at the start of the Grand Prix in Monza.

Bizarrely his front wing managed to get damaged between the garage and the grid following the installation laps.

He also suffered a software issue on his installation laps which meant that his start procedure was completely out of sync. Immediately from the off Hamilton was slow off the line, Rosberg stormed into the lead whilst Hamilton dropped behind Felipe Massa and Kevin Magnussen into fourth.

But Hamilton’s clear performance edge saw his Mercedes get back past the McLaren and Williams and he set about hunting down Rosberg.

The lead dropped from 5 seconds to just over 1 seconds before the first pit-stop, aided by Rosberg making a mistake into the first corner, missing the chicane before returning to the track after going down the escape road.

Following the pit-stop Rosberg made the same mistake once again, but this time with Hamilton closer, he conceded the lead with Hamilton never looking back.

‘Lewis was quicker this weekend, so he deserved the win. That for sure is very disappointing for me. I had a lock up in Turn 1 and I decided to go straight to avoid a flat spotted tyre. That cost me the lead. But he was very quick behind me, so I had to push all the time. But I need to see the positive things from today.’ Rosberg told formula1.com.

‘Second place is still good and I lost only seven points to Lewis, so this could have been much worse. It’s also a great result for the team, the first 1-2 since Austria. So I’m happy for everybody in our team and I have to thank everyone again for this great Silver Arrow.

‘We were the strongest team at this unique circuit. The tifosi created a great atmosphere for us on the podium; it was all red all the way down the straight. That was great to see. Now I look forward to Singapore, I like the track and I have great memories from last year.’