Motorsport wrap: Hamilton claims F1 points lead with Italian Grand Prix win

Lewis Hamilton has moved into the lead of the Formula 1 championship after taking a dominant victory in the Italian Grand Prix, leading home team-mate Valtteri Bottas for a Mercedes-AMG one-two.

The British racer’s path to his sixth win of the year was eased when he snatched pole position in a dramatic wet qualifying session. Hamilton’s pole, the 69th of his career, set a new record, moving him clear of Michael Schumacher’s tally of 68.

The other big names weren’t so fortunate in a qualifying session delayed for several hours due to rain and a heavy crash for Romain Grosjean (Haas). There were also myriad grid penalties, so Hamilton lined up ahead of Lance Stroll (Williams) and Esteban Ocon (Force India), with title rival Sebastian Vettel down in sixth on the grid in his Ferrari.

Hamilton immediately pulled clear of Ocon at the start and built up a healthy lead while Bottas charged through to second. Vettel battled up to third but was no match for the Mercedes drivers and had to push to fend off Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo in the closing stages.

Having won the Belgian and Italian races on consecutive weekends, Hamilton now leads Vettel by three points with seven grands prix to go. “It’s amazing to come and have back-to-back wins,” he said. “It’s been a long time that Sebastian has been leading the championship, so to now be slightly ahead is a great feeling.”