Italian Grand Prix

Jenson Button ready to get sweaty for Singapore

London: Jenson Button will be getting on his bike and building up a sweat to prepare for Singapore next week after failing to finish on Sunday in an Italian Grand Prix won by McLaren team mate Lewis Hamilton.

The 2009 Formula One world champion had thought he was building up momentum after winning from pole position in Belgium and racking up a string of points to put himself back in the fray after a mid-season slump.

Instead, Monza left him with even more of a mountain to climb after a fuel system problem forced him to retire while running in second place.

Button will have two days in McLaren's race simulator at their Woking headquarters, and will then do some sponsor activity before heading to Singapore on Saturday with his trainer to prepare for the September 23 race....more    

Alonso says Italian GP was a 'perfect Sunday'

Monza, Italy: Ferrari's Fernando Alonso finished only third in the Italian Grand Prix but the Formula One leader declared it a "perfect Sunday" drive in the park, after extending his overall lead against the odds. Red Bull's reigning champion Sebastian Vettel, the Spaniard's closest rival before the start, retired along with his Australian team-mate Mark Webber. So too did McLaren's Jenson Button, winner at Spa where Alonso crashed out at...  

Renault apologise after Red Bull draw a blank

Monza: Engine suppliers Renault apologised to Formula One champions Red Bull at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday after the team failed to score a point in a race for the first time since 2010. Double world champion Sebastian Vettel rolled to a halt with what was diagnosed as an alternator failure - the same problem that denied the German a victory in Valencia in June when he started on...  

Italian GP: Force India's Di Resta earns 4 points

Monza: Paul di Resta earned four points for Sahara Force India from the Italian Grand Prix with an eighth place finish but his teammate Nico Hulkenberg had to retire in the dying moments of the race despite a superb drive, here today. Di Resta had qualified fourth but started the race in the ninth position due to a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change. Though he could not...  

McLaren's Hamilton wins Italian Grand Prix

Monza: McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton led nearly from start to finish to win the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, and Formula One leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari came third to extend his overall lead. Hamilton put speculation about his future and a possible switch to Mercedes behind him to claim his first victory at Monza and the 20th of his career. It's unlikely to have much impact on the championship...  

Alonso's bad luck carries over to Monza

Monza, Italy: Fernando Alonso cursed his bad luck after a mechanical failure denied the Formula One championship leader a possible pole position at Ferrari's home Italian Grand Prix on Saturday. Alonso, who was shunted out of last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix at the start, qualified in 10th place after a problem with his car's rear anti-roll bar left him with no chance of a competitive lap. The Spaniard, 24 points...  

Hamilton on pole for Italian Grand Prix

Monza: Lewis Hamilton took pole position for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix after setting the fastest time in qualifying, while teammate Jenson Button made it a McLaren one-two. As speculation about his future and a possible switch to Mercedes continued, Hamilton took his fourth pole of the season in a time of 1 minute, 24.010 seconds, just over a tenth of a second faster than Button. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa was...  

Resta gets five place grid penalty at Monza

Monza: Force India's Paul Di Resta will have a five place penalty on the Italian Grand Prix starting grid after an unscheduled gearbox change. Formula One technical delegate Jo Bauer said in a report that the Briton had not completed five successive events with the gearbox as the rules stipulate. Force India have high hopes for Sunday's race at Monza after German team mate Nico Hulkenberg finished fourth in last...  

Hamilton fastest in final practice at Italian GP

Monza, Italy: Lewis Hamilton had the fastest time in the final practice session at the Italian Grand Prix, edging out championship leader Fernando Alonso by just one thousandth of a second. As speculation about his future and a possible switch to Mercedes continued, Hamilton posted a time of 1 minute, 24.578 seconds in perfect conditions at Monza on Saturday. The McLaren driver also topped Friday's second practice. Alonso put Friday's...  

Paul and Nico in top-10 at Italian GP practice

Monza: Both the Sahara Force India drivers, Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta, on Friday managed to get top-10 finishes in the practice ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, here on Sunday. Hulkenberg, coming into the race after his career-best show at Belgium, clocked eighth fastest time in FP2, while Di Resta was seventh. Di Resta did not take part in FP1 but clocked his best lap in 1:25.546 in...  

Hamilton fastest in 2nd practice at Italian GP

Monza, Italy: Lewis Hamilton had the fastest time in Friday's second practice session at the Italian Grand Prix, as championship leader Fernando Alonso endured more problems with his Ferrari. Hamilton posted a time of 1 minute 25.290 seconds, just 0.038 seconds faster than McLaren team-mate Jenson Button. Alonso was third, 0.058 seconds behind Hamilton, but struggled with his car in both sessions. After a suspected engine failure six minutes from...  

McLaren refuse to be distracted by Hamilton gossip

Monza: McLaren are relaxed about Lewis Hamilton's Formula One future and will not be distracted by speculation that the 2008 champion could move to Mercedes, team principal Martin Whitmarsh said on Friday. Rumours about Hamilton's future have been the main talking point at the Italian Grand Prix but Whitmarsh said it was business as usual for his engineers and mechanics. "Media like that sort of speculation, but Lewis and his...  

Schumacher fastest in 1st practice at Italian GP

Monza, Italy: Michael Schumacher had the fastest time in the first practice session at the Italian Grand Prix in glorious conditions at Monza on Friday. Schumacher posted a time of 1 minute 25.422 seconds in his Mercedes, edging Jenson Button by 0.301 seconds. Nico Rosberg was third. Championship leader Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest. The Ferrari driver had a technical problem six minutes from the end of the session. Alonso...  

Force India hopeful of good show at Monza

Monza: Sahara Force India made a good start to the second half of the season with 13 points at Spa and the Formula One outfit is optimistic of carrying forward the momentum into the Sunday's Italian Grand Prix. Monza is a high-speed circuit with low downforce and teams come here with specific changes to their car, specially the wings, and the team is confident of a good performance. "The car...  

Button win would make Ferrari fans see red

Monza: McLaren's Jenson Button has finished runner-up in the Italian Grand Prix for the past three years but, strangely, the prospect of actually winning it this weekend does not fill his heart with unconfined joy. Monza, Ferrari's home race, is the temple of Italian motorsport and anyone who beats the red cars is never going to feel the true love of the hugely-partisan massed hordes of local 'tifosi' (fans). Button,...  

Hua to replace Narine for Italian GP practice

Monza (Italy): Ma Qing Hua will become the first Chinese to drive in the Formula One Championship on Friday when he replaces Narain Karthikeyan in the HRT for the first free practice session at the Italian Grand Prix here. Since joining HRT, Ma Qing Hua has been preparing himself for the F1 challenge by testing lower category cars, working on the simulator and going through a rigorous physical training regime....  

D'Ambrosio to replace Grosjean at Italian GP

Belgian driver Jerome d'Ambrosio will race for Lotus in the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at Monza this weekend in place of the suspended Romain Grosjean, the team said on Tuesday. Frenchman Grosjean was banned for one race after causing a pile-up and smashing into championship leader Fernando Alonso's Ferrari at the first corner of last Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. D'Ambrosio, who raced for Virgin (now Marussia) last...  

Grosjean banned for Italian Grand Prix

Spa-Francorchamps: French Formula One driver Romain Grosjean will miss next weekend's Italian Grand Prix after being handed a one-race ban and 50,000 euros fine for causing a first corner pile-up in Belgium on Sunday. His Lotus team said they would not be appealing the stewards' decision. "When you love racing it's very hard," Grosjean, looking stunned, told reporters after returning to the team motorhome following a meeting with race officials...  

Does Vettel want to race for Ferrari?

Monza: Sebastian Vettel wiped away tears of delight on an emotional return to the Italian Grand Prix podium on Sunday as a sea of fans, most of them in Ferrari red, flooded the Monza pit straight. They would have cheered louder had Ferrari's Fernando Alonso repeated last year's win on home soil instead of finishing third, but many also have a lingering affection for Red Bull's German champion. They may...  

McLaren unhappy with Schumacher's tactics

Monza: McLaren accused Michael Schumacher of using tough tactics to prevent Lewis Hamilton getting past for much of Sunday's Italian Grand Prix. Hamilton, embroiled in countless controversies already this Formula One season, refused to be drawn into a slanging match after complaining about his Mercedes rival over the radio during the race. "He had a fair amount of provocation and frustration in that race and I think someone drove him...