The Italian Grand Prix was the 13th round of the 2014 season and was won in style by Lewis Hamilton, who returned to the top step of the podium for the first time since Silverstone.
Nico Rosberg finished second after a mistake dropped him behind his team-mate, with Felipe Massa scoring his first top three result of the season. Here are some post-race thoughts from this year's grid. Fifth the maximum possible, says Ricciardo:
"The strategy helped today, it kept the tyres fresh enough to go those extra few laps at the end. I saw the cars in front of me pit and the pace was still good enough, so seeing that we didn’t have great pace when we were out of position then we thought we would try something different and that’s why we went long, which helped towards the end of the race.
"I was more comfortable with the prime tyre and was able to do some good moves, which kept me smiling. The start wasn’t ideal, it’s one of the longest runs up to Turn One here from the start line and it’s not a place where you want to have a bad one, but I dropped the clutch and didn’t get the traction, so we will have to look at that, but we kept a cool head and picked our way back through the field. I think fifth, even with a good start, was the best we could do."
"Firstly it was amazing to see the straight completely filled with fans from the podium today. You make this race and thank you so much for your support! Big congratulations to the team for our performance this weekend. We said we wanted a one-two and we got it today; this result is important for everyone.
"It was a difficult race for me though. The launch sequence didn't engage properly for the formation lap and then again for the start. I tried to pull away as fast as possible, basically I just floored it and hoped for the best. Fortunately I didn't lose too many places and was able to get past Kevin, then have a good battle with Felipe.
"When I closed up to Nico, I didn't want to hold back as the car felt good and I knew from experience that the only chance would be at the start of the stint when the tyres were fresh so I went for it. I'm really pleased with the win, it's feels like I have some momentum back as we go into the final races."
ERS problem caused Alonso retirement:
"After a long run of trouble-free races, it’s a real shame I had to retire just here in Monza, in front
of all our fans. I would have liked to have put on
a very different race for them. In the first stint
we were competitive,
but when you find yourself in a group of cars where
everyone is using DRS, overtaking becomes nearly impossible.
After the pit stop,
"I found myself at the back of a
train of cars and at that point we changed the strategy, deciding to
drop back from the group to conserve the tyres and
try and attack at the end of the race. But then came the problem
with the ERS system. It’s never nice for the team to have a reliability problem, because the guys work
night and day to
give us the best car possible. What happened doesn’t change my will to win and in order to try and have that happen
soon, we will continue to work as hard as we can, always giving our all."
"I made a good start and a strong first lap which gave me a better position than on the grid as I was able to get past the Saubers. From there I tried to attack the Toro Rosso ahead of me, but their configuration for the straights was too much to overcome.
"This meant we were running at a consistent pace without any fear from the cars behind, but equally without pace in the right place to attack the cars ahead. It was quite uneventful today but good to get to the finish line."
Button disappointed with eighth, but enjoyed wheel-to-wheel racing:
"This wasn’t the result I was after – but the was good fun nonetheless. It’s just a pity that we didn’t quite have the race pace we’d hoped for: when you start fifth and sixth, you’re not just looking for a points finish, you want a bit more than that.
"If we’d had a clear run, I think we could have done a bit better – but, in the traffic, it was easier for the cars around us to pick us off than it was for us to pick them off. I had an amazing battle with Checo – we took the first Lesmo side by side, which doesn’t happen very often.
"It’s a pity I couldn’t get past him – I tried so many times – but he was so strong under braking that to match him into the turns I was locking up the fronts and the rears, which left me struggling for position on the exits.
“But I was really on the limit. It was superb wheel-to-wheel action – I hope it was great entertainment for the spectators and fantastic TV for the fans at home."
"It wasn't a very busy race for me. I was racing alone most of the time and just doing my own race: not being towed around or benefiting from DRS made it a bit harder. I had a very good start, especially considering I was on the hard tyre, but I lost contact with the cars ahead of me quite soon because they were on the medium and I didn’t really have the same pace.
"It was quite difficult to manage the car, especially the rear end: I had some oversteering and it was tricky to drive. I pitted quite early as I wasn't going anywhere on my hard tyres and we saw a good opportunity to jump people, but we still found it difficult to deal with the balance. We need to look ahead now to Singapore and work to bring more performance to the car. Singapore is a track we all enjoy: everything - the track, the atmosphere, the setup - is special."
Sutil: We were too slow today:
"It was not a spectacular race for me. We were easily able to finish the race with a one stop strategy. Generally we were too slow today, that is why I could not finish better than 15th. The team worked well and we did not make any mistakes. We still have to continue working on the car in order to improve our performance. It was not an easy race, but we finished it without any incidents."
"I feel disappointed with how my race ended. We had a brake disc failure I think, but I managed to hang on and bring the car home in P11.
"It’s a shame when you give it your hundred percent and you finish the race outside the points, but I’m very pleased with my race in general. Starting from the back is never easy, but I managed to overtake a few cars and get close to a points finish. We will now have a look at what exactly happened, before heading to the next race in Singapore."
Massa delighted with podium return:
"It was a fantastic race for me so I am really happy. I had a good start and passed Magnussen at just the right time. I had to work hard to establish that position, sadly the Mercedes were still a bit quick, so we did the best we could. Monza is a special podium, and to hear the fans sing my name was amazing."
Bianchi eager to move on from disappointing weekend:
"It was a really tough race for us today but I did everything the Team asked of me and nothing more was possible. In the end, we struggled a little with the speed on the straights and we were not able to improve further.
"Across the whole team we know the areas we need to improve on and everyone is pushing hard to get the most from the package. For now, we just have to put the disappointment this weekend behind us and look ahead to Singapore and a track that is much better suited to our car."
Kobayashi pleased with race result:
"I’m happy with my race. We finished in front of Marussia, which is a good result for us. The new updates that were introduced in Spa are working well and we are definitely improving. Monza is quite a unique track, so let’s see how we get on at other circuits, but I am happy with our result – the team has worked very hard and done a great job, it’s been a very smooth weekend."
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