Hamilton wins in Monza as one stop strategy is the order of the day

(Pirelli Motorsport Media)

Mercedes AMG F1 Team's Lewis Hamilton made use of a one stop strategy to take victory over his team mate and championship rival Nico Rosberg by 3.1s at today's Italian Grand Prix in Monza. The 2008 world champion started the race from pole position on a set of the Pirelli Medium compound tyre's before switching to a brand new set of the Pirelli P Zero Orange walled Hard tyre.

Every driver on the grid with the exception of the Sauber F1 Team's Esteban Gutierrez made one stop. The Sauber driver made a total of three stops making his first stop on lap nine of the race for a set of the new Medium tyre's he then stopped again on lap 36 for a used set of Medium tyre's. The Mexican made his final stop on lap 49 for a set of used Medium tyre's. Gutierrez went on to finish the race in 19th place.

The longest stint on the Pirelli Medium tyre was completed by the Sahara Force India Formula One Team's Nico Hulkenberg who completed 34 laps while reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel completed the longest stint on the Hard tyre doing 35 laps in one stint for Infiniti Red Bull Racing.

Speaking about today's final European race of the season Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery commented:

'Throughout the weekend, wear and degradation rates were low on both compounds – even with the punishing speeds and impacts with kerbs that the tyres have to face here at Monza. We’ve seen top speeds during the race in excess of 360kph, putting on a great show for the spectators. 

Also, we’ve experienced no blistering during the course of the weekend, which can occasionally be an issue at Monza. Congratulation to Lewis Hamilton for his second win with us at Monza: we saw plenty of high-speed action further down the field as well, showcasing all the skills of the current generation of Formula One drivers and cars.'

UPDATE:

The Suaber F1 Team's Esteban Gutierrez was handed a 20 second penalty following his collision with the Lotus F1 Team's Romain Grosjean and as a result finished the race in 20th place promoting the Caterham F1 Team's Marcus Ericsson to 19th place.

© Ben Johnston 2014