2015 Italian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton completed a grand slam at Monza, winning from Sebastian Vettel as Nico Rosberg retired late on. Felipe Massa held off Valtteri Bottas to put Williams on the podium in front of Ferrari‘s home crowd.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Pole time	1:23.397
Fastest lap	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Fastest-lap time	1:26.672 on lap 48
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Third	Felipe Massa	Williams

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
4 September 2015	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
4 September 2015	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
5 September 2015	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
5 September 2015	Qualifying	14:00
6 September 2015	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Lewis Hamilton arrived at round 12 leading the 2015 F1 World Championship on 227 points, with Nico Rosberg on 199. Mercedes headed the constructors’ standings with 426 points.

Race entries

The 10 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Italian Grand Prix. Jolyon Palmer also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Mercedes made a commanding start to FP1, with Lewis Hamilton around half a second ahead of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel another second further back. Carlos Sainz interrupted proceedings when he spun into the gravel at Parabolica. At Lotus, Jolyon Palmer took over Romain Grosjean’s car and finished his morning in 15th.

Nico Rosberg closed to within 0.021 seconds of Lewis Hamilton in FP2, while Ferrari still faced a sizeable gap. Force India’s strong straight-line performance helped Sergio Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg into fourth and fifth. Further back, Daniel Ricciardo suffered a hydraulic problem, Jenson Button’s running was curtailed, and Max Verstappen escaped a spin through the gravel at Ascari.

Overnight rain left the track wet at the start of FP3 before conditions improved. Sebastian Vettel narrowed Ferrari’s deficit to Lewis Hamilton to just over a quarter of a second, offering the home crowd more encouragement. Red Bull endured a difficult session: Daniel Ricciardo’s new engine failed, while Daniil Kvyat spent much of the morning in the garage.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2015 Italian Grand Prix FP1, 4 September 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:24.670	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.463s	22
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.588s	17
4	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.942s	19
5	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.060s	29
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+2.113s	16
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+2.252s	27
8	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+2.266s	22
9	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.405s	25
10	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+2.448s	28
11	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.562s	21
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+2.605s	29
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.784s	17
14	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+2.921s	27
15	30	Jolyon Palmer	Lotus F1	+2.999s	28
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+3.237s	8
17	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+3.353s	11
18	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+3.753s	12
19	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	+5.183s	22
20	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	+5.241s	12

Free Practice 2 Classification

2015 Italian Grand Prix FP2, 4 September 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:24.279	27
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.021s	35
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.759s	36
4	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+0.999s	34
5	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.046s	43
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.101s	39
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.218s	41
8	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+1.234s	41
9	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.368s	34
10	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.612s	31
11	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+1.835s	30
12	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+1.854s	32
13	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.943s	27
14	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+2.175s	38
15	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.362s	50
16	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.687s	31
17	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	+3.922s	29
18	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	+4.160s	27
19	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+4.192s	3
20	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+4.444s	28

Free Practice 3 Classification

2015 Italian Grand Prix FP3, 5 September 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:24.544	18
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.264s	12
3	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.299s	19
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+0.402s	14
5	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+0.621s	14
6	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+0.698s	11
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.700s	13
8	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+0.971s	14
9	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+1.148s	17
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.203s	8
11	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+1.368s	17
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.597s	13
13	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.088s	9
14	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.206s	14
15	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	+3.579s	13
16	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+3.671s	25
17	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+4.047s	10
18	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+4.084s	23
19	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	+4.573s	11
20	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+5.356s	7

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Kimi Räikkönen second and Sebastian Vettel third.

Lewis Hamilton took pole, while Kimi Räikkönen secured a front-row start ahead of Sebastian Vettel. Nico Rosberg qualified fourth after Mercedes reverted to an older power unit when a problem emerged with his newer specification.

Qualifying Classification

2015 Italian Grand Prix Qualifying, 5 September 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:24.251	1:23.383	1:23.397	15
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:24.662	1:23.757	1:23.631	17
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:24.989	1:23.577	1:23.685	20
4	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:24.609	1:23.864	1:23.703	19
5	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:25.184	1:23.983	1:23.940	19
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:24.979	1:24.313	1:24.127	17
7	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:24.801	1:24.379	1:24.626	19
8	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:25.144	1:24.448	1:25.054	19
9	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:24.937	1:24.510	1:25.317	18
10	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:25.122	1:24.457	1:26.214	20
11	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	1:25.429	1:24.525	—	16
12	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:25.121	1:24.898	—	15
13	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:25.410	1:25.618	—	10
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	1:25.742	1:25.796	—	11
15	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:25.633	no time	—	3
16	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:26.058	—	—	7
17	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:26.154	—	—	7
18	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	1:27.731	—	—	9
19	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	1:27.912	—	—	9
—	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	no time	—	—	1

Marcus Ericsson received a 3-spot grid penalty for impeding Nico Hülkenberg, but only dropped two places due to the penalty incurred by Sainz.

Carlos Sainz received a 35-place grid penalty for an assortment of changes to his power unit.

Daniil Kvyat received a 35-place grid penalty for an assortment of changes to his power unit.

Daniel Ricciardo received a 50-place grid penalty for an assortment of changes to his power unit.

Jenson Button received a 5-place grid penalty for changing to his ninth ICU, but moved up one place due to more severe penalties incurred by other drivers.

Fernando Alonso received a 10-place grid penalty for changing to his ninth ICU, but moved up one place due to more severe penalties incurred by other drivers.

Max Verstappen received a 30-place grid penalty for an assortment of changes to his power unit, which provisionally placed him in the 17th position. However, he further failed to set a qualifying time within 107%, but was allowed to start in the final grid spot by the stewards.

What happened in the 2015 Italian Grand Prix?

Räikkönen failed to get away cleanly and fell to the back, while Hamilton led Vettel. Rosberg lost ground avoiding the slow Ferrari and found himself behind both Williams cars during the opening stint.

Hamilton steadily increased his lead as Rosberg used an earlier stop to move ahead of Massa and Bottas. Räikkönen recovered through the midfield, but his disastrous start had removed him from the victory contest.

Rosberg closed on Vettel before his engine failed near the finish. Hamilton was meanwhile urged to increase his margin because Mercedes feared a possible tyre-pressure penalty, although the stewards ultimately took no further action.

Hamilton won with pole, fastest lap and every lap led. Vettel finished second, while Massa resisted Bottas for third. Räikkönen recovered fifth ahead of Sergio Pérez, and Hamilton’s championship lead grew to 53 points.

Further down the points places, Nico Hülkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Marcus Ericsson and Daniil Kvyat completed the scoring positions. Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2015 rules.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton headed the drivers’ standings with 252 points, followed by Nico Rosberg on 199. Mercedes led the constructors’ table on 451, with Ferrari on 270.

2015 Italian Grand Prix race results

The 2015 Italian Grand Prix was held on 6 September 2015, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	53	1:18:00.688	25
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	53	+25.042	18
3	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	53	+47.635	15
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	53	+47.996	12
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	53	+1:08.860	10
6	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	53	+1:12.783	8
7	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	52	+1 Lap	6
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	52	+1 Lap	4
9	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	52	+1 Lap	2
10	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	52	+1 Lap	1
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	52	+1 Lap	0
12	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	52	+1 Lap	0
13	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	52	+1 Lap	0
14	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	52	+1 Lap	0
15	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	51	+2 Laps	0
16	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	51	+2 Laps	0
17	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	50	Engine	0
18	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	47	Electrical	0
Ret	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1	Collision damage	0
Ret	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	1	Collision damage	0

Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso were both classified as they had completed 90% of the race distance.

2015 Italian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	48	15:14:03	1:26.672	240.617
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	43	15:07:12	1:27.067	239.525
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	52	15:20:17	1:27.376	238.678
4	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	35	14:56:53	1:27.390	238.640
5	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	38	15:01:01	1:27.510	238.313
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	49	15:16:14	1:27.525	238.272
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	43	15:07:47	1:27.584	238.111
8	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	31	14:49:45	1:27.874	237.326
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	50	15:18:27	1:28.065	236.811
10	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	46	15:12:10	1:28.140	236.609
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	39	15:02:18	1:28.231	236.365
12	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	22	14:36:48	1:28.516	235.604
13	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	51	15:20:42	1:28.653	235.240
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	36	14:57:35	1:28.913	234.552
15	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	42	15:07:35	1:29.285	233.575
16	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	33	14:53:57	1:29.766	232.324
17	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	51	15:22:23	1:31.098	228.927
18	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	29	14:48:50	1:31.311	228.393

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded. Time of Day is local.

2015 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2015 Italian Grand Prix.

2015 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	252
2	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	199
3	Sebastian Vettel	German	Ferrari	178
4	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams	97
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	92
6	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	91
7	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	Red Bull Racing	58
8	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing	55
9	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	38
10	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Force India	33
11	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	30
12	Max Verstappen	Dutch	Toro Rosso	26
13	Felipe Nasr	Brazilian	Sauber	16
14	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Lotus F1	12
15	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	11
16	Carlos Sainz	Spanish	Toro Rosso	9
17	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Sauber	9
18	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	6
19	Roberto Merhi	Spanish	Manor Marussia	0
20	Will Stevens	British	Manor Marussia	0
–	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	McLaren	0

2015 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	451
2	Ferrari	270
3	Williams	188
4	Red Bull Racing	113
5	Force India	63
6	Lotus F1	50
7	Toro Rosso	35
8	Sauber	25
9	McLaren	17
10	Manor Marussia	0

2015 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2015 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	15 March
2	2015 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	29 March
3	2015 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	12 April
4	2015 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	19 April
5	2015 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	10 May
6	2015 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	24 May
7	2015 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	7 June
8	2015 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	21 June
9	2015 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	5 July
10	2015 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	26 July
11	2015 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	23 August
12	2015 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	6 September
13	2015 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	20 September
14	2015 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	27 September
15	2015 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	11 October
16	2015 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	25 October
17	2015 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	1 November
18	2015 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	15 November
19	2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	29 November