To the race track for Formula One and the Italian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton took the pole and was looking to win at Monza for the third straight year. But his Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg, had other ideas. The German came in determined to trim the Brit's lead in the overall standings. A slow start by the reigning world champ would put him in position to do just that.
Hamilton dominated qualifying to grab top spot on the grid. That put him in position to become the first driver since 1955, to win this race three times in a row. But he would quickly fall back into the pack, ahead of the first big turn at the historic circuit located half an hour north of Milan.
Felipe Nasr of Sauber suffers through an even worse start, as he collides with Renault's Joylon Palmer on the second lap and spins out. Both drivers would be forced to retire from the race.
Meanwhile, Hamilton gets to work making up lost ground, as he overtakes Valtteri Bottas of Williams. The Finn eventually finishes sixth.
More trouble for Hamilton shortly afterwards, as the reigning champ locks his breaks, and runs over a chicane.
Daniel Ricciardo trying to make a push for Red Bull. The Aussie passes Bottas to take over fifth, but wouldn't be able to move any higher.
Rosberg is cruising along comfortably with less than four laps to go, and poised to cut Hamilton's lead in the standings.
Kimi Raikkonen makes a late charge for Ferrari, but the Finn would not be able to catch teammate Sebastian Vettel, who takes third.
And at the finish line, Rosberg would hold off Hamilton to grab the checkered flag for the second straight week. Cheers at the Mercedes pitwall and garage, as their dynamic duo will occupy the top two spots on the podium again.
The German celebrates his seventh victory of the season by doing some crowd surfing, as he is hoisted up in jubilation. But most importantly for him, the win reduces Hamilton's cushion to a mere two points. The gap was 19 just two races ago.
Rosberg winning by 15 seconds over Hamilton, with Vettel 20 seconds off the pace, just ahead of Raikkonen. That means Hamilton now has 250 points, and Rosberg 248. The German will look to overhaul his British teammate two weeks from now, as the campaign resumes in Singapore.
