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Hamilton wins at Monza, takes Formula One lead from Vettel

MONZA, Italy (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday with an utterly dominant drive that sent the Briton clear at the top of the Formula One world championship for the first time in a year. The triple champion, who started the last race of the European season from a record 69th career pole position, led Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas to a runaway one-two finish at Ferrari's home track. "I love it here in Italy and I love the passion of the fans," Hamilton declared on the podium jutting out over a sea of red-shirted Ferrari fans, with plenty of boos coming his way amid the cheers. "We did a great job, the team did an exceptional job this weekend," he added. "Mercedes power is definitely better than Ferrari power." Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who had led the standings since he won the Australian season-opener in March, finished third in the final race of the European season and 36.3 seconds behind the winner. Bottas was 4.4 adrift of Hamilton. "It was a difficult day, a difficult start," said Vettel. "My race was fairly isolated, we tried to keep as close as possible but we simply didn't have the pace... You could say it's a bad day but I know the team is on the right way... so I am in a very positive mood despite the numbers." Hamilton is now three points clear of the German, with seven races remaining. Mercedes are 62 points clear of Ferrari in the constructors' standings. The first driver to win two races in a row this season, with Monza following on from Belgium a week ago, Hamilton now leads Vettel 6-4 on victories in 2017. He has 238 points to Vettel's 235. The last time Hamilton led the standings on his own was at Monza a year ago, with now-retired team mate Nico Rosberg emerging as the eventual champion. FEW THRILLS Hamilton and four-times champion Vettel were level on points this year after China in April, with one win and one second place each. If Sunday's race was a dull affair, there was at least plenty of sunshine in marked contrast to the steady rain that drenched fans and delayed qualifying for hours on Saturday. Hamilton pulled away cleanly from his historic pole, and fourth in a row at Monza, and was never challenged as he drove to the chequered flag with the minimum of fuss. It was his third Italian Grand Prix win in four years and 59th career victory – only Michael Schumacher, whose pole record he beat, can boast more – and few have been more straightforward.

Race recap: 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix was everything good and bad about F1

Nothing was as it seemed heading into Bahrain. We were told team bosses had nixed the qualifying experiment that flunked every test by every measure in Australia, but that didn't happen. The FIA didn't give the teams the option of a wholesale return to the old format, the governing body only held a vote on whether to revert back to the old format in Q3 but stick with elimination gimmicks in Q1 and Q2. McLaren and Red Bull dissented, denying the chance for hybrid rounds. We're surprised none of the smaller teams voted against since elimination qualifying is hardest on them. Given the chance to fix the system again in Bahrain, Formula 1 failed again. The FIA and Bernie Ecclestone don't want to go back to the old system – because the race promoters don't want to go back to the old system – so all we know for sure is that there will be more meetings. We also thought Fernando Alonso would race in Bahrain after being given medical clearance, but a follow-up scan by the FIA showed fractured ribs and a damaged lung, ruling him out. And we thought Ferrari might have the pace to conquer Mercedes-AMG Petronas this year – and they might yet, but not on Saturday. That's why the Bahrain race began with another Mercedes one-two, Lewis Hamilton ahead of Nico Rosberg, Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen behind. The Australian outback is plagued with rabbits, which must have something to do with how Daniel Ricciardo keeps pulling them out of his helmet; the Aussie got his Red Bull up to a surprising fifth on the grid. Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas in sixth and Felipe Massa in seventh would need to get him out of the way quickly to show what the car can do after an unsatisfying race in Australia. Nico Hulkenberg lined up in eighth for Sahara Force India. As proof the qualifying format failed again with its sophomore attempt, the last five minutes of Q2 were disappointing. Hulkenberg had the track completely to himself for his quali run, the only two cars on track after him were the Williams duo who weren't setting a time, but getting a set of soft tires ready to start the race on. As for Q1, the only reason for on-track action in the last three minutes was because Hamilton flubbed his first timed run. Romain Grosjean continued Haas F1's fruitful start to the season with ninth place, ahead of Max Verstappen in the Toro Rosso closing out the top ten. At the end of a long red light to start the race, Rosberg claimed his right to victory before Turn 1.

Mercedes details plans for move to Georgia

Automakers are getting restless in America, moving their headquarters from one location to another. Toyota is shifting its US operations to Dallas, Porsche is moving to a new headquarters across town, Cadillac is relocating from Detroit to New York, but lately the news has been about Mercedes. The German automaker has run its US operations out of its current facility in Montvale, NJ for decades, but now it's preparing to relocate to a new facility in Atlanta. And it has just announced further details of the move. The company is building a new facility at the corner of Abernathy and Barfield in Sandy Springs outside of Atlanta. That's right near where the Georgia 400 meets Interstate 285 near Hartsfield-Jackson airport, giving Mercedes access to an existing infrastructure of hotels, restaurants and of course transportation routes. The facility will take up a 12-acre plot of land and is earmarked for completion in early 2018. Lest you think MBUSA will stay put in Montvale in the meantime, though, it won't. The company is actually going to relocate twice, moving in the meantime to a temporary, 186,000-square-foot facility at the Perimeter Center in Dunwoody, GA. That move will kick off in July. The move detailed earlier this week at a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol with Governor Nathan Deal will see Mercedes hiring hundreds of new employees in Atlanta. Even after it moves down south, though, the company will keep certain functions in New Jersey, both in Montvale and in Robbinsville where it has its parts distribution center. MERCEDES-BENZ USA ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF NEW CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS IN ATLANTA MBUSA to occupy interim office space in Central Perimeter before opening new, state-of-the-art facility in 2018 February 03, 2015 - ATLANTA -- At a press conference today at the Georgia State Capitol, Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) announced the permanent and interim locations for its new corporate headquarters in Atlanta. Company President and CEO Stephen Cannon made the announcement with Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. MBUSA, which is currently headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey, will construct a new, state-of-the-art headquarters facility on a greenfield site located at the corner of Abernathy and Barfield roads in Sandy Springs, expected to be completed in early 2018.