Mercedez is again a favorite going into the 12th grand prix of the season in Sunday's 2015 Italian Formula One Grand Prix. The Mercedez team dominated the recent Belgian Grand Prix 2015 led by Lewis Hamilton who now has accumulated with 227 points while teammate Nico Rosberg has 199.
Going into this Sunday's race in Monza, Rosberg said Mercedez will do plenty of adjustments to retain their advantage on the asphalt.
Asked during the pre-race press conference on Thursday about the races are getting more complicated because of the new rules implemented by F1 organizers, Rosberg admitted that the starts have not been the strength of the Mercedez team in recent races.
"Yeah, it's true that starts have not been our strength lately, so we've been working on it a lot, making progress and then of course the rule change also came in right in the middle of, or off the back of two starts that hadn't been fantastic," he said. "So it's a work in progress and we need to improve for sure, we know that, and we're all getting into it."
Rosberg also discussed about his excitement over the coming of his new baby. He said, "For sure it's been very exciting, very intense of course. Big respect for all the mothers of this world - unbelievable. No, very emotional and super happy. Very excited."
Indeed the Italian grand prix will have the Mercedez team, particularly Hamilton, will be the focus. Hamilton won his 5th grand prix in impressive style this season after starting from the pole position although he had to make a very quick recovery following a bad start from both Mercedez. Hamilton's victory in the Belgian grand prix gave him the lead in the championship by 28 points followed by fellow Mercedez driver Rosberg. Romain Grossjean of Lotus finished third place but currently stands at ninth place overall with 38 points.
Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel ranks number three overall with 160 points. He encountered a major setback in his Belgian grand prix campaign after puncturing a tire towards the end of the race when he was about to come in third.
During the press conference, Sebastian explained how he loves driving for Ferrari and his expectations in the Italian grand prix. "Obviously I've heard lots of good things. I've been here before so obviously [I have seen] the passion for Ferrari, so obviously very much looking forward to becoming part of that. If we do well, which is our target, and we manage to be on the podium on Sunday I'm looking forward to not receiving booing for a long time. So, yeah, plenty of stuff to look forward to. So far we have had a great season. This is our home Grand Prix as a team and since I didn't have a home Grand Prix this year I adopt this one as well and hopefully we can make it a good one."
He also said that his team has learned a lot from his burst tire during the last race and hope the incident could be avoided.
How to Watch Live Stream
The F1 Italian Grand Prix 2015 has a start time of 8 a.m. ET and can be watched online through live stream.
U.S. viewers can watch the race live on cable or satellite subscription. You can also watch the race for free NBC Sports Live Extra. You will need a cable or satellite log-in and password to access the stream. NBC's frequently asked questions page provides information on how to get log-in and password details.
Mobile users can watch the race via the NBC Sports Live Extra App, which you can download in the App Store or the Google Play Store.
