Hamilton has to make it count

Mercedes believe Sunday's Italian GP is a 'must-win'
race for the team in their championship fight against
Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton seeks to complete a
perfect weekend at Monza.
An emotional Hamilton broke the all-time record for
most pole positions in F1 when he beat the field in
qualifying on Saturday.
Championship rival Sebastian Vettel endured a torrid
time in the rain but will be promoted to start from
sixth due to grid penalties against Red Bull pair Max
Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
Updated provisional starting grid for the Italian GP
With the next round of races, especially F1's next
stop in Singapore, not expected to favour their car,
Hamilton and Mercedes know they must make their
advantage over Ferrari count on Sunday afternoon.
"If the race is dry, and I heard that it is, it's definitely
going to help," Hamilton said of his buffer to Vettel.
"You've got the Force India and Williams that both
should be quick on the straight with the Mercedes
engines, and obviously Valtteri [Bottas].
"So hopefully it will make it a bit of a harder day for
the Ferraris. But I've just got to look forwards and
keep my foot down and just go for it.
"I have no idea how it's going to go but I'm going to
try to make sure it's one of the best days ever."
When's the Italian GP on Sky?
On the back of a subdued weekend at Spa, Valtteri
Bottas, still to be confirmed as Hamilton's team-mate
for 2018 as haggling over his contract continues,
struggled again.
The Finn was over two seconds slower than Hamilton
in qualifying but will line up on the second row due to
the grid demotions against the two Red Bulls.
"The main thing for me is to get past the Force India
and Williams as quickly as possible," said Bottas.
"That's going to be the main goal at the beginning of
the race.
"My long runs in practice were good and we should
have a strong car in the race. Even though it looks
pretty bad on paper, with me in sixth, it's not that
bad. I'll be on the second row and still ahead of the
Ferraris."
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton secured his 69th pole
position in F1 to break the record of Michael
Schumacher in Monza.
Mercedes enjoy the advantage on Ferrari's home turf
Monza is considered to be the last high-speed track
F1 will visit this season and, somewhat ironically
given it is host of Ferrari's home race, appears to be
the only circuit remaining this year which will offer
Mercedes a clear advantage.
While the Silver Arrows and Scuderia have proved
evenly matched over the course of the season, the
contrasting characteristics of their cars has meant
that on a race-by-race basis the season has also
been punctuated by both teams enjoying clear
superiority at certain circuits - Ferrari at Hungary and
Monaco, for instance, while Mercedes were
unbeatable at Silverstone.
So if this is the last track on the calendar this year
to offer the world champions a distinct advantage,
Mercedes need to make it count - especially with
Singapore, and its tight and twisty circuit almost
certain to suit Ferrari and Red Bull over Mercedes,
F1's next destination.
"Mercedes really has to win here with Hamilton
number one and Bottas number two if we want to
really work for this championship - because Ferrari
team and drivers were a little quicker in Spa," Niki
Lauda, the Mercedes non-executive chairman, told
Sky F1. "Hamilton won the race only because of him.
"If we cannot change things here, going to Singapore
where we're going to lose for sure, then the battle
will be over earlier than we expect."
Updated provisional starting grid for the Italian GP
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2) Lance Stroll, Williams
3) Esteban Ocon, Force India
4) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
5) Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
6) Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
7) Felipe Massa, Williams
8) Sergio Perez, Force India
9) Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso
10) Kevin Magnussen, Haas
11) Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
12) Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber
13) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
14) Nico Hulkenberg, Renault
15) Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso
16) Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
17) Jolyon Palmer, Renault
18) Fernando Alonso, McLaren
19) Romain Grosjean, Haas
20) Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren
Watch the Italian GP LIVE ONLY on Sky Sports F1 this
weekend. Sunday's race at F1's fastest track starts at
1pm. Want to watch but not a subscriber? Get a NOW
TV day pass for £6.99!
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