Championship hopeful Nico Rosberg expressed his delight at his opening day of the Italian Grand Prix compared to his start in Spa.
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“It is obviously a track you can overtake on but for some reason you need a second advantage (of speed) on the vehicle in front to be able to really put the overtaking manoeuvr into action”, Hamilton said of the storied Monza track, which has hosted more F1 racing than any other circuit.
Last week, during the Belgium Grand Prix practices and qualifying, the German suffered severe tyre degradation.
MONZA, Italy (AP) – Locked in another tight duel with Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg for the Formula One title, Lewis Hamilton is as loose as can be. It’s never been straightforward weekends of races for me but it’s a great place to come and, for racing, it’s quite a special place. “I did a good job up to now but I wasn’t quick enough”, said a glum Rosberg.
On Sunday, Hamilton will be aiming to become the first driver since Fangio in 1955 to win at Monza three consecutive years.
“I’m delighted that I’ll be staying on as a key member of the McLaren-Honda team”, Button said. Rosberg set a 1m 22.959 and Hamilton shortly afterwards could not match it, setting a 1m 23.162.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen placed third and fourth, respectively, and also flip-flopped spots from the morning.
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, whose aggressive defending against Raikkonen at Spa last weekend is still the talk of the paddock, was eighth for Red Bull.
Featuring long straights and the highest speeds in F1 – up to 355 kph (220 mph) – there’s plenty of space to overtake but aerodynamics make it a challenge.
Hamilton leads Rosberg by nine points going into the last European race of the season but the triple world champion can hope to extend that on Sunday.
Rosberg is seeking his first victory at the Italian Grand Prix.
“While we have reached an agreement (they) are getting all the small details that are important in a contract together and we will sign this back in England, ” Ecclestone, 85, said. “I’m contracted for both 2017 and 2018, I intend to work hard on car-development, and I’m sure I’ll get behind the wheel of the new vehicle at some point”.
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The deal is reportedly worth 68 million euros ($76 million), slightly less than the 25 million euros ($28 million) per year Ecclestone requested.
