Rosberg revels in 'unbelievable' first Monza win
Nico Rosberg has described his first Italian Grand Prix victory as "unbelievable", adding he is "very happy" to have finally won at Monza given he feels "part-Italian".
Rosberg led from lights-to-flag in his Mercedes and was never threatened en-route to his 21st career F1 win and his 50th podium.
ITALIAN GP RACE REPORT: Rosberg dominates to win as Hamilton fluffs start
The result sees him close on team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship, reducing the gap from 9 points to 2 with seven races remaining, the next in Singapore later this month.
"It is absolutely amazing, it is a very special day for me and I am very happy to finally have a win here in Italy," Rosberg said. "It is unbelievable and it makes it phenomenal to be up here [on the podium]."
"I feel part-Italian because I had a lot of Italian friends growing up and with the culture, so it is all the more special," he added.
RESULTS: Italian Grand Prix - Race results
Rosberg also pointed out that the start was crucial, with Hamilton failing to capitalise on pole position and initially slipping down to sixth.
"It was all down to the start," Rosberg confirmed. "I had an awesome start and that made the win. It was all there..."
"The start was the big opportunity and that worked out fantastically," he continued in the post-event press conference. "I got a great start [as I said] and because of course we had the soft tyres and the Ferraris had the supersofts, they had a bit more grip, but it worked out great [for me]. That gave me the race win in the end because from then on I was able to control the pace and we had good speed."
Meanwhile, Rosberg reiterated why it was so special for him to get his first win at Monza, and despite a bit of booing on the podium, he won over the tifosi with a song (specifically: 'Seven Nation Army' by the White Stripes).
"The sing-a-long [on the podium after]... the Italian Grand Prix crowd is just the best in the world and it is really good fun," he added.
"It feels great [to get the win]. It is special because I really feel close to the Italian culture in many ways. All my best friends are Italian and I speak Italian and have a lot of connections with Italy and a lot of support here also. It is amazing to see and on this historic track, it has been a special place to win."
Finally, asked if he feels like the momentum is now with him in the Championship after taking two wins in succession, he replied: "No, not at all. I don't see waves. I just see it race-by-race and today I am very, very happy to have won here and next is Singapore and I will try and win there and that is it."
Latest Tweets from Crash.net & GPF1rst
