Mercedes technical director James Allison has labelled Mercedes' win at the Italian Grand Prix as the most comprehensive one this year. Lewis Hamilton dominated the 53 laps around Monza to take his 59th career victory, his sixth of the season.
Following Hamilton across the line was Valtteri Bottas to score another Mercedes 1-2 finish. Bottas struggled in qualifying, battling through treacherous conditions, but found the pace on race day to overtake his competition in the early stages.
The Silver Arrows extended its lead at the top of the championship, with the gap to Ferrari now reading 62 points. However, Allison said that the points scored on Sunday were precious as the team believes some of the upcoming tracks will not quite suit its package as well as Monza.
"This season has been an exhilarating rollercoaster ride and we have won races by the skin of our teeth, others where we have lost by similar margins," he said. "But this was the most comprehensive of our eight victories so far this season. It was a 1-2, flawlessly executed by the team, a dominant performance and delivered on the home turf of our main competitor; all that makes it a pretty memorable day.
"Aside from the emotion, though, these points count the same as any others and put us in the lead of the drivers’ table for the first time as well as building our lead in the constructors’ standings. We know that sterner challenges await us in the races to come, so we need to bank these points, move on and make sure that we don’t relinquish either championship lead from now to Abu Dhabi."
Fergal Walsh
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