Lewis Hamilton Leads Mercedes 1-2 at Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix 2017

Lewis Hamilton took the lead at the top of the Formula One driver standings on Sunday, as Mercedes dominated the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Hamilton started on pole and, after a clean getaway, wasn't troubled up front, taking the chequered flag with plenty left in the tank. His team-mate Valtteri Bottas moved into second early on and pulled away from the rest of the field with ease. 

The victory sees Hamilton scale the summit in the race for the world title ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel by three points; Vettel finished in third ahead of a fast-finishing Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull.

Starting from fourth spot, Bottas was the busiest man in the initial stages of the race, as he was overtaken by Kimi Raikkonen on the first lap.

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But the Mercedes man stayed patient and was able to use the superior straight-line speed of his car to overhaul his compatriot. Per Sky Sports F1, neither Finn was giving an inch as they tussled for third position:

Then Bottas set about reeling in Lance Stroll to take third and then Esteban Ocon to move into second spot.

With Hamilton surging clear down the road, as noted by the Fake Charlie Whiting Twitter account, the race was already looking like a procession for the two Silver Arrows:

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen's woes continued in the Red Bull. He was clipped by Felipe Massa and had a puncture on his front-right tyre; it meant he spent a substantial spell in the pits, effectively ending his chances of a podium finish.

As the Mercedes drivers streaked clear at the front, the more interesting battles out on track were in pursuit of the final podium spot.

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Vettel was able to usurp Ocon and take third, much to the delight of the home support for the Ferrari driver. He was then able to put a gap to the Force India man, though Ricciardo was making rapid progress through the field.

Having started in 16th, the Australian had done brilliantly to move up 12 places into fourth place. As noted by F1 journalist Chris Medland, Ricciardo was enjoying himself on track:

After the second round of pitstops, Ricciardo emerged in fifth position after a long run, behind Raikkonen and Vettel. Though with a set of supersoft tyres on his car, he had the setup to make some serious time in the final part of the race, with the rest of the field on the slower, soft tyre.

It didn't take him long to get past the Finn, as he leapt ahead of Raikkonen into fourth from a long way back at Turn 1. Matt Gallagher praised the overtaking skill of the Red Bull driver:

With the laps ticking down, he did set about reeling in Vettel in the last 10 laps of the race. He had left himself a little too much to do in the end, though Ricciardo would have been delighted to have made his way to such a lofty position after starting so far back.

Meanwhile, up front the two Mercedes men were able to turn down their engines and still pull away from the chasers, with Hamilton sauntering to glory. It was the perfect weekend for the Silver Arrows and for Hamilton, who had bossed their Ferrari rivals in their own back yard.