Hamilton wins ahead of brilliant Perez in Monza

Alonso gifted third to stretched Championship lead

Lewis Hamilton -  WinnerWinning at Monza is one of the greatest experiences of my Formula One career. I absolutely love this place: Ive been coming to Italy to race since I was 13 years-old and I just love the culture, the food and the people. Since I started in Formula One, Monza has been one of the races I always wanted to win at - its such an incredible, historic circuit and all the great racing drivers have won here. To finally put my name on that list makes me feel extremely proud, but also very humble. Our car has been fantastic all weekend, and it was nice to have a relaxed grand prix with no troubles. I was out on my own for most of the race and just tried to manage the gap behind me. I was cruising at the end, but, once I heard that Sergio Perez had got past Fernando Alonso, I had to push a little to keep the cushion over second place. The race was very unfortunate for Jenson - we were running first and second at the time and it would have been great for the team if we could have finished like that. This championship is proving to be so unpredictable - and Im so grateful that weve got a good car and that were in the fight. Weve got seven more races on the calendar. We should enjoy today, but this victory is just one step. Tomorrow, well start all over again, for Singapore.

Jenson Button - DNFI had too much wheelspin at the start, and that dropped me to third and caused me to lose a lot of time behind Felipe Massa. But it was nice to get past him, put some clear air between us, and then start chasing down Lewis. I was never going to challenge him for the win, but it would have been great for the team if we could have finished first and second. But it wasnt to be. I dont entirely know what caused my car to stop - Im told it was a fuel system problem that were still investigating. The engine cut out and I had to coast to a stop. These things happen. But, looking for the positives, I want to offer my congratulations to the whole team. Weve proven over the past few races that were very strong in both qualifying trim and race trim. That consistency is really key, and we havent seen that form from any team all season, so thats very encouraging indeed.

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principalLewis drove a perfect race here at Monza today, and duly took a well-deserved victory - his 20th grand prix win and McLarens 180th. In truth, he was in total control throughout all 53 laps, and was never really threatened. We should have scored a one-two finish, but Jenson was deprived of an easy second place by a fuel system problem. Thats frustrating for him and frustrating for us, but the important thing is that our car is a winner. Weve now won three Grands Prix in a row, and both our drivers are on top form. Lewis has now closed up to second place in the drivers world championship, with seven Grands Prix still to run. It was his third victory of the season, and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes fifth. The momentum is with us, and the drivers world championship crown is well within Lewiss grasp. In the constructors championship, too, were in good shape. Winning is what Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is all about. In Singapore in two weeks time, were planning to do some more of it.

1.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes          2.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari            3.  Alonso        Ferrari                    4.  Massa         Ferrari5.  Raikkonen     Lotus-Renault                    6.  Schumacher    Mercedes                  7.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   8.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       9.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             10  Senna         Williams-Renault           11  Maldonado     Williams-Renault           12  Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari         13  d'Ambrosio    Lotus-Renault              14  Kovalainen    Caterham-Renault           15  Petrov        Caterham-Renault          16  Pic           Marussia-Cosworth          17  Glock         Marussia-Cosworth          18  De la Rosa    HRT-Cosworth              19  Karthikeyan   HRT-Cosworth               20  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           21  Hulkenberg    Force India-Mercedes       22  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault          

Not classified/

Button        McLaren-Mercedes           Vergne        Toro Rosso-Ferrari  

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World Championship standings afterround 13:

Drivers' Championship standings

1.  Alonso       179        2.  Hamilton     142       3.  Raikkonen    141        4.  Vettel       140        5.  Webber       132        6.  Button       101       7.  Rosberg       83        8.  Grosjean      76        9.  Perez         6510  Massa         4711 Schumacher    4312  Kobayashi     3513  Di Resta      3214  Hulkenberg    3115  Maldonado     2916  Senna         2517  Vergne         818  Ricciardo      4

Constructors' Championship standings1.  Red Bull-Renault          2722.  McLaren-Mercedes          2433.  Ferrari                   2264.  Lotus-Renault             2175.  Mercedes                  1266.  Sauber-Ferrari            1007.  Sahara Force India-Mercedes 638.  Williams-Renault           549.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         12


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