'Monza was Formula One at its best'

Formula One's managing director Ross Brawn believes that the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen during the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday displayed the sport "at its best" and provided a "good advertisement" for people who are looking to be entertained by the action.

Raikkonen started on pole position with Sebastian Vettel in P1 and Hamilton in P3, with the German losing ground on the first lap after a collision with his Brit rival.

The race proved to be a battle between Raikkonen and Hamilton thereafter, and with a few laps to go the latter would overtake the Ferrari driver, who led for the majority.

"Events at the Monza circuit this weekend were a great advertisement for Formula 1,” Brawn said to Crash.

“Sunday’s race was very exciting and closely fought with the winner only emerging once Lewis Hamilton had passed Kimi Raikkonen for a final time.

“The duel between Lewis and Kimi in Monza showed Formula 1 at its best, highlighting the talent of the drivers, the performance of the cars, tyre management and team-work between the drivers.

“During the weekend, the advantage swung back and forth between the two top teams. On Saturday, Ferrari had the upper hand, but Hamilton was there to hunt them down, forcing his way past one of them on the opening lap and the other towards the end.

“It was a great way to bring the curtain down on the European season and hopefully we will enjoy similarly spectacular races in the final third of the championship, as we tackle seven races on three continents in less than three months.”

Brawn went on to praise the efforts of Hamilton, who successfully bounced back in Italy after suffering defeat to Vettel in the Belgian Grand Prix the previous week.

“Lewis Hamilton’s win was really well deserved,” the Liberty Media man continued.

“After Vettel’s Spa win, Ferrari seemed to be flying on the wings of enthusiasm in Monza, aided by the support of their home crowd, and Lewis missed out on a front row slot by a whisker.

“But the championship leader refused to lose heart. After the start, he attacked aggressively but correctly, managing to get past Vettel, and thereafter he remained glued to the tail of Räikkönen’s Ferrari, putting the Finn under heavy pressure, while still managing to preserve his tyres.”