Lewis Hamilton survived a post-race investigation into his starting tyre pressures to record his seventh (and Mercedes' tenth) win of the season at Monza on Sunday. It was the world champion’s third win in Italy and his 40th career triumph, moving him just one victory behind Ayrton Senna and Sebastian Vettel in the all-time list.
Race winner Jim Clark (GBR) Lotus celebrates his victory. British Grand Prix, Silverstone, 10 July 1965.
Lewis Hamilton has recorded two 'grand slams' in his career - six fewer than the legendary Jim Clark
Hamilton’s domination in Italy was total. Not only did he set the fastest lap times in all three practice sessions and all three segments of qualifying, he also led every lap of the race and set the race’s fastest lap to claim his second career ‘grand slam’ and his first since Malaysia in 2014.
Jim Clark holds the all-time record with eight grand slams (or grand chelems as they are sometimes known), but Sebastian Vettel has the most of the current grid. The German has completed the set of pole position, fastest lap, every lap led and victory on four Grand Prix weekends in his career, most recently at Korea in 2013.
Speaking of Vettel, the four-time world champion picked up the fourth Monza podium finish of his career with second place. The German is the 37th different driver to reach the rostrum in Italy wearing the red of Ferrari (the 40th if you include those who shared drives in the 1950s).
Behind Vettel, Felipe Massa - himself a podium finisher for Ferrari at Monza - held off team mate Valtteri Bottas to secure his second (and Williams’ third) rostrum finish of the season. In total, Williams scored 27 points in Italy - their biggest single race haul of the year.
Felipe Massa (BRA) Williams FW37 at Formula One World Championship, Rd12, Italian Grand Prix, Race, Monza, Italy, Sunday 6 September 2015.
Williams scored 27 points in Italy - their biggest single race haul of the season
Force India also collected a season-high total of 14 points after Sergio Perez came home sixth and Nico Hulkenberg seventh. It was the team’s fourth double points finish in 12 races this season.
Elsewhere, Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson will be disappointed to have lost what would have been a career-best-equalling eighth place to Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo on the last lap, but the Swede did at least extend his points run to three consecutive races with ninth.
Daniil Kvyat kept his own points run going by coming home tenth – the fourth race in a row in which he’s scored. Along with Ricciardo, the Russian also helped extend Renault’s points streak as an engine supplier to 131 races - something that looked a tall order before the race with all four Renault-powered cars starting from the rear of the grid.
In other statistical news, somewhat incredibly both Lotuses retired before the end of the second lap for the third time this season. After early DNFs in both Spa and Monza, Pastor Maldonado has now completed just three of the last 96 racing laps. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso seems only marginally less unlucky than the Venezuelan, the Spaniard failing to reach the chequered flag for the sixth time this season. That's the most early baths he's had since his maiden season with Minardi in 2001.
And finally, on the subject of retirements, Nico Rosberg suffered his first DNF of the year in Monza. The German is now 53 points behind Silver Arrows team mate Hamilton - the biggest deficit he has faced all season.
Can Rosberg turn things around in Singapore in two weeks’ time?
