Lewis Hamilton stormed to his seventh win of the 2015 season at the Monza circuit in Italy, keeping his victory despite a post-race investigation into tyre pressures.
Sebastian Vettel was second, with Felipe Massa being promoted to third after Nico Rosberg retired with an engine failure. Here is what some of the F1 grid had to say after round 12 of the season. Lewis Hamilton:
"This weekend has been just fantastic. A perfect weekend for me - I can't remember one like it. This race is so special for every driver. When you stand up on that podium it's so emotional. It's a really proud moment to be up there in front of that sea of fans and to walk in the footsteps of so many great drivers who have won here.
"The start was pretty close, holding off Sebastian. But from there I felt in control. The balance wasn't perfect for qualifying but it was one of the best I've had in the race. I can't thank the team enough for all their hard work."
"It was a great result for the team considering where we started and the characteristics of this track. It was sweet taking that eighth place on the last lap from Ericsson.
"I am very happy with the chassis, the car was handling really well, and we were able to fight with a Ferrari and a Mercedes-powered car on a track where we lost out a lot on the straights. It wasn’t an easy weekend for us, but I think the race was positive and the energy in the team is good."
Felipe Massa:
"It's really emotional to have been on the podium. It was a difficult but fantastic race, I didn't have the best start but I was still able to pass cars so it was good enough. I worked hard to open the gap to Valtteri, but when I pitted early it gave him the advantage on tyres at the end of the race.
"It was hard to keep him behind as he really wanted it, but I just about managed it. I am delighted for myself and the team, we got a lot of valuable points. It's special to be up on the podium at Monza again, and I really thank the team for their effort today."
Sebastian Vettel:
"It’s an incredible day, it’s the best second place I ever had in Formula One. Thanks to all the tifosi for giving me those emotions today on the podium: it’s fantastic to see so many fans, feel the support we get as a team. It just makes our lives so much more worth living when you see all the fans coming underneath the podium.
"In terms of emotions it’s more than a victory. It’s nearly a perfect day: I’m saying nearly because I don’t know what happened to Kimi at the start. It’s a shame because otherwise I believe we could have both cars on the podium today. The speed was there, unfortunately not enough to win, but we’ve tried everything.
"Monza is known to be a power track and we all know how dominant Mercedes was here last year. I believe the engine guys have done a great job. There are for sure things that we need to improve: we’ll do step by step. Tyres were ok for the whole weekend."
Jenson Button:
"I had a good start, and took some cars into Turn 1. The whole first lap was good – there were a lot of incidents, and I think I got up into ninth. Then, unfortunately, I just waited for the other cars to come by. It was a bit difficult out there, because the other drivers were overtaking me in places that I didn’t previously think were possible, so I had to look in my mirrors on the entry to every corner.
"At the end, I missed out on a good race with my team-mate. We’d already had a good little fight for three laps, and there were six to go when he retired. I think it would’ve been a good fight between us – it’s easy for other cars to overtake us, but it’s not easy for us to overtake each other, so it would’ve been quite fun"
"Seventh place brings some useful points, but I finished the race feeling a little bit frustrated because we didn’t have the pace we know is possible. I actually think we had a problem with the car and it’s something we need to investigate because I was losing downforce, the car was sliding and the rear tyres were heating up too much, all of which really hurt my pace.
"The second half of the race was quite difficult defending against Ericsson and that’s when we were considering changing to a two-stop strategy because I was struggling so much with the tyres. In the end we decided against it and I was able to hang on to seventh place for some important points."
Max Verstappen:
"I couldn’t do much today because the drive-through at the start of the race put me on the back-foot, but I think we can be happy with the car’s pace, it was really good! Hopefully we have more luck in the next qualifying and start higher up on the grid in Singapore.
"It wasn’t one of the easiest races, but I enjoyed some more good overtaking moves and I’m happy with that. I’m sure that if we hadn’t started from last in the race we would’ve finished in the points today. We can be pleased and I now look forward to Singapore, where I’m sure we will be competitive."
Romain Grosjean:
"We had the potential of a good race ahead of us. I made a strong start but got hit by a car from behind in turn one which broke my rear suspension so that was it for us. It was a too optimistic move from Nasr who hit me which meant my race was over.
"It’s been a tough weekend but everyone has made the most of the opportunities we have and the spirit of the team and the support from the F1 world has been amazing. The E23 still feels good so we head to the next races optimistic of more good results to come."
Will Stevens:
"That was a good race. The car was well-balanced, we had good pace and for the first few laps I could enjoy some proper racing with the cars coming from behind us.
"Inevitably, things settled down a bit after that but we were able to push hard and maintain the momentum. I was very comfortable this weekend and feel like things are going my way again, so now I’m really looking forward to the long-hauls."
Marcus Ericsson:
"I was pleased with my start and first lap. We were expecting to fight against our direct competitors here in Monza. Throughout the race I had a good pace, therefore, I was able to pressure Nico (Hülkenberg) for the whole race distance.
"Surely it was one of the strongest races so far this year. Obviously it is frustrating having lost a position in the very last corner on the last lap. I pushed my tyres a bit too much trying to overtake Nico (Hülkenberg), so then I was not able to defend against Daniel (Ricciardo). A bitter sweet ending to a strong race."
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