2014 Italian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Rosberg leads the Drivers’ Championship with 220 points, ahead of Hamilton in second and Ricciardo in third. Alonso is fourth with 121 points, Bottas fifth.

Previous race

Ricciardo won in Belgium for his second consecutive victory and third of the season, holding off Rosberg across the closing laps. Hamilton retired after Rosberg made contact with his left-rear tyre on the second lap, puncturing it and causing bodywork damage that eventually forced him out. Rosberg was booed at the podium — a crowd reaction that followed him from Belgium — and received an undisclosed punishment from Mercedes for what the team principal called “absolutely unacceptable” contact. Bottas finished third.

Between-race developments

Five days after Spa, Mercedes held a meeting with both drivers. Rosberg accepted responsibility for the collision as “an error of judgement,” apologised, and was given an undisclosed punishment. Both drivers have been cleared to continue racing each other freely, without team orders favouring either party. Hamilton also acknowledged in a statement that he had made errors during their rivalry this season. Team principal Wolff stated a similar incident “will not be allowed to happen again.”

Track changes

The Parabolica corner has been altered: a large portion of its gravel trap has been replaced by asphalt, reportedly to support a potential return of the Superbike World Championship in 2015. The change has drawn criticism from drivers and fans who feel it reduces the challenge of the corner.

Entrants

Kobayashi returns to Caterham, replacing Lotterer who had driven at Belgium. Lotus reserve driver Charles Pic replaces Grosjean in FP1 for the first time in 2014. Daniel Juncadella uses Pérez’s Force India in FP1; van der Garde drives Sutil’s Sauber.

Tyre choices

Pirelli brings the white-banded medium and the orange-banded hard dry compound tyres.

Practice

Hamilton was fastest in FP1 at 1:26.187, six-tenths clear of Button. During the session, several drivers noted the hard compound tyres took longer than expected to come up to temperature; Ricciardo ended his session early with an ERS problem; Magnussen had rear-braking issues. Rosberg set the fastest time of FP2 at 1:26.225, with Hamilton 0.061 seconds behind; Räikkönen third. The Lotus drivers struggled to generate tyre heat throughout. Rosberg abandoned his short programme in FP3 early due to recurring gearbox problems. Hamilton set the fastest time of the weekend so far in FP3 at 1:25.519, ahead of Alonso and the Williams pair of Bottas and Massa.