Lewis Hamilton cruised to his seventh win of the season at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, and nearly doubled his Formula One lead over Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, whose engine caught fire with two laps remaining.
However, Hamilton’s victory was under question after stewards summoned Mercedes concerning tire pressures on both of their cars. Hamilton’s left rear tyre pressure was 0.3 psi below the minimum, while Rosberg’s was 1.1 too low.
“I wasn’t aware of it,” Hamilton said, adding that 0.3 psi “is not really a huge amount on one tyre.”
Lewis Hamilton’s 40th career victory was later confirmed when the stewards at the race meeting decided to take no further action after investigating claims that his Mercedes car was running on tyres that infringed the regulations.
In a statement issued more than two hours after the race, the stewards said that they had determined the pressure in the tyres concerned were at the minimum start pressure recommended by Pirelli – when they were fitted to the car.
This fact and the team’s adherence to safety procedures was sufficient evidence of Mercedes’ good intent to sway the decision in their favour.
“We are totally sure no one is cheating,” tire supplier Pirelli spokesman Roberto Boccafogli said, adding that “0.3 psi is nothing. ... Such a small thing.”
Otherwise, it was a golden weekend for Hamilton, who topped every practice, started from pole position and led the race from start to finish.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a weekend like this,” said Hamilton, who is aiming for his second straight F1 title and third overall.
A potential challenge from Ferrari fizzled when Kimi Raikkonen stalled on the front row of the starting grid.
In perfect conditions, Hamilton finished 25 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the other Ferrari, while Felipe Massa crossed third, 47 seconds back.
Massa finished just three tenths of a second ahead of Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas.
“It’s the best second-place I’ve ever had,” said the four-time world champion Vettel, who raced for Ferrari for the first time at Monza. “The emotions on the podium are incredible.”
Amid speculation that Monza might be removed from the circuit after its contract expires next season, Vettel made an emotional call to keep the race in Italy.
“If we take this race away from the calendar for any (poor) money reasons I think you are basically ripping our hearts out,” said the German, who won twice at Monza with Red Bull and once with Toro Rosso before signing with Ferrari a year ago. “Because this (race) makes it so much more worthwhile. You look left, look right, and people are just happy to be part of it. And it makes our day. It’s incredible.”
Hamilton now leads Rosberg by 53 points with seven races remaining this season.
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