F1 Raceweek: Rosberg closing in on Hamilton marker, Ferrari fading – Italian GP in numbers

Having ended his August curse in Belgium, Nico Rosberg can end his September hoodoo in Italy this weekend, while Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton is closing in on a Monza record held by two Formula One greats.

Rosberg reduced Hamilton’s championship lead to nine points with a start-to-finish win at Spa, where the Englishman gained 18 positions to cross the line in third.

With the help of Opta, we take a look at the key statistics behind this weekend’s action.

1 – Rosberg claimed his first August F1 win in Belgium and has the chance in Monza to get his first September victory.

2  – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen recorded his best qualifying performance in F1 by starting second at Spa. However, he failed to win points there – the first time as a Red Bull driver he has finished outside the points.

4  – Both Ferrari drivers (Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen) have gone four Grands Prix in a row without reaching the podium – the team’s worst run since Fernando Alonso left.

4  – If Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) manages to reach podium in Monza, he will achieve four top-three finishes in a row for the first time.

5  – Lewis Hamilton needs one more pole position to equal Juan Manuel Fangio and Ayrton Senna as the top ‘poleman’ in Monza history (5).

6 – Rosberg has already equalled his 2015 win record of six – his best tally in F1.

7 – The German (7) is closing in on Hamilton (8) when it comes to the number of GPs he’s led from start to finish.

20 – If Ferrari do not start the next race from pole, they will have failed to do so in 20 consecutive races.

65 – Monza has hosted more F1 Grands Prix than any other circuit (65).