Lewis Hamilton intends to put the mayhem of Belgium behind him for an all-out assault on the Italian Grand Prix this weekend.
After the collision with Nico Rosberg, his team-mate, in Spa, which led to an apology and punishment for the German, Mercedes want to regroup when they arrive at Monza, one of the historic homes of Formula One.
Hamilton and Rosberg will be expected to work together, despite their differences in Belgium, with Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes Motorsport, laying down the law at a tense meeting last week. This is a crucial race for Hamilton, who is 29 points behind Rosberg in the world championship and needs a flawless weekend at one of the fastest tracks on the calendar.
“To win [at Monza] is a really special feeling,” Hamilton said. “I had that experience in 2012 and I would love to do it again in 2014. My aim for the weekend, of course, is to claw back the gap in the drivers’ championship. It is as big as it has been all season so I have got a lot of work ahead of me - but anything can happen in this sport.”
Wolff is hoping that nothing untoward happens Mercedes this time, after a woeful Spa when a one-two finish was turned into a meagre second place for Rosberg behind Red Bull��s Daniel Ricciardo, while Hamilton failed to finish and score a point.
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“After a tough weekend in Belgium, our attention is now fully focused on the next race at Monza,” Wolff said. “We have a quick car but we have not delivered our full potential in recent races and that must be our target this weekend. Spa was a reminder to us as a team that our competition are never far away and we must continue to tackle every weekend as if it could be the defining moment of our season.”