Hamilton predicts "easy win" for Verstappen after sprint disaster

Lewis Hamilton fears his championship rival Max Verstappen is in line for an "easy win" at the Italian Grand Prix after the sprint at Monza shuffled the order.

Hamilton started from second behind team-mate Valtteri Bottas, but dropped to sixth at the first chicane when a poor start allowed by Verstappen, McLaren duo Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris, as well as AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly.

The Frenchman crashed out immediately at the Curva Grande, and despite then remaining within DRS range of Norris for the duration, he was unable to find a way past.

With Bottas starting at the back of the grid due to engine penalties, Hamilton starts the race from fourth behind polesitter Verstappen.

The Dutch driver's two points from finishing runner-up in the sprint have extended his championship lead to five over Hamilton who now expects to further pain on Sunday.

"You saw the pace of the Red Bull," said Hamilton. "I don't know if he was quicker than Valtteri but they're so fast and now he's on pole so it should be an easy win for him.

"For me, I've just got to try and get past the two guys ahead [referring to Ricciardo and Norris]."

Whilst the majority of the field started the sprint on medium tyres, Hamilton reflected the softs used by McLaren proved more durable than Mercedes had expected.

"I think we just underestimated how well they would behave and anyway, I've got to try and figure out how I can get by the McLarens tomorrow and try to limit the damage," added Hamilton.

Mercedes is no longer adding upgrades to its cars after switching focus to 2022, in what appears to be stark contrast to Red Bull.

Asked if Red Bull had been underestimated after struggling on Friday, Hamilton answered: "I think they've got more pace than you think they've had all year.

"They bring upgrades every week and I think, from what I'm told, there's only one race they haven't brought an upgrade.

"They're constantly adding performance to the car and they did a great job."

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