F1 Italian Grand Prix: Hamilton charges to win as Rosberg slips

Current Formula 1 world championship leader Nico Rosberg of Mercedes AMG saw his lead cut by seven points to 22 after teammate and rival for this year's F1 title Lewis Hamilton took a comfortable win ahead of the German who made two glaring errors under braking for the first chicane at Monza during the Italian Grand Prix.

The second error on lap 27 cost Rosberg the lead of the race although he was being put under pressure by 2008 world champion Hamilton who had recovered from a poor start from pole position due to a software glitch on his car.

MERCEDES ROMP IN FERRARI'S HOUSE

Held in the backyard of former F1 champions Ferrari and in front of the team's devoted 'tifosi', the Italian GP was utterly dominated by cars with Mercedes-Benz power units as the top six slots on the starting grid was filled with cars with Mercedes powered cars. Former double world champion Fernando Alonso could only manage seventh place in his Ferrari.

Alonso was, however, forced to retire from the race due to a problem with the energy recovery system on his car and teammate Kimi Raikkonen could only manage ninth.

CONSOLATION FOR RED BULL RACING

Defending four-time F1 champions Red Bull Racing succeeded in breaking the hold of Mercedes powered teams in the top six by finishing fifth and sixth. Although it was Daniel Ricciardo who placed higher as he yet again managed to get the better of defending champion Sebastian Vettel on track, overtaking him late in the race.

WILLIAMS 'BEST OF THE REST'

With a 1-2 finish for the factory Mercedes team looking inevitable throughout the weekend, the main uncertainty at Monza was which team would take the next two places at the finish line.

With a big name sponsor on board, a talented young gun and an experienced and capable driver behind the wheel, Williams Racing took third and fourth. Although it was not Finland's Valtteri Bottas - who had scored four podiums in the previous five races - who finished higher of the two Williams drivers.

Instead it was Brazil's Felipe Massa who scored his first podium finish since last year's Spanish GP when he finished third for Ferrari.

The podium capped off quite a weekend for Massa who (along with Bottas) was confirmed as a Williams Racing driver for the 2015 season and the British team overtook Ferrari - for whom Massa had driven for the last nine seasons - in the constructors championship to take third behind Red Bull Racing and Mercedes AMG.

HAMILTON EDGES CLOSER

With his sixth win of the season - and 28th of his F1 career - Hamilton now lies 22 points behind Rosberg with six races left till the season ends in Abu Dhabi on November 23.

Out of his six wins this season, Monza was perhaps the one where Hamilton looked most at ease in beating his teammate.

At a circuit where brakes take a beating and ask a lot from the driver, Hamilton's reputation of being the best under braking out of the current F1 field was validated along with his fiery temperament that has also seen him get into his fair share of trouble on the track.

It was also speculated that the severe criticism (a lot of it unwarranted) that Rosberg came under from the mainstay F1 media and fans after his second lap incident with Hamilton in Belgium played on the German's mind as he wilted under the pressure put on him by Hamilton at Monza.

The momentum currently seems to be with Hamilton although it would take a very brave person to stick their neck out and pick a winner by the time the dust settles at the end of the Abu Dhabi GP.

F1 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT

1) Lewis Hamilton (#44) Mercedes AMG

2) Nico Rosberg (#6) Mercedes AMG

3) Felipe Massa (#19) Williams-Mercedes

4) Valtteri Bottas (#77) Williams-Mercedes

5) Daniel Ricciardo (#3) Red Bull-Renault

6) Sebastian Vettel (#1) Red Bull-Renault

7) Sergio Perez (#11) Force India-Mercedes

8) Jenson Button (#22) McLaren-Mercedes

9) Kimi Raikkonen (#7) Ferrari

10) Kevin Magnussen (#20) McLaren-Mercedes