Sebastian Vettel is remaining unfazed despite losing the championship lead to main rival Lewis Hamilton for the first time this year after a disappointing Italian Grand Prix.

The German now sits three points behind in second as he and Ferrari had no response to the pace of the Mercedes at Monza as Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas claimed a 1-2 by over half a minute. 

The result left the Scuderia with a bloody nose after their home race, President Sergio Marchionne described their performance as embarrassing and Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff even suggested they had taken a step backwards, but four-time champion Vettel is sure the poor weekend was just a blip. 

"We have a very strong car - very strong," he told Italy's La Repubblica. "We will have a great season finale, I'm sure of that."

Explaining why the race did prove so difficult, he claimed: "Since the start, I did not feel the car and in the last 20 laps I struggled a lot.

"It was just a bad race. I'm not worried about the future - I'm optimistic. In spite of the numbers and the odds, the championship is still very long and we will not disappoint the people who want us to do well."

The next three races are expected to be more preferential towards Ferrari with downforce crucial at Suzuka and Singapore and the high temperatures expected both in Marina Bay and Sepang also benefiting the Maranello outfit.

Though most races have gone to the form book so far, Vettel wouldn't comment on whether that was a positive for him, insisting: "Things on paper do not interest me. As well as what is on paper, there is the extra element of competition that makes a difference.

"In short, the more difficult it is, the more fun it is. In sports, the easy things are boring."

And as for the championship battle and now being in the position of chaser rather than chased, Sebastian, who has won every championship he has led at some point in the year, made it clear nothing has changed in his mindset.

“Leading the championship is not important as much as winning the championship, it’s where you are at the last race that counts. It is clear where we want to go, what we want to achieve,” he claimed.

Daniel Ricciardo was pleased with his eventual fourth place finish from 16th on the grid, as the Australian produced yet another excellent recovery drive at the Italian Grand Prix.

Following his fifth place from 19th on the grid at Silverstone two month ago, the Red Bull driver produced another complete performance showing his well-known overtaking abilities and combined it with excellent pace as he was able to split the two Ferraris.

Using an alternative strategy of starting on the Soft compound tyres, he would run as high as third for a brief spell as others pitted and he made his way through, such was his speed he was a legitimate threat to Sebastian Vettel for the final podium place, but just ran out of laps finishing four seconds behind his former teammate.

“Yeah, we were closing down on the podium. At one stage we were catching Seb about a second a lap, 1.1 and at that rate, we would have caught him by the last lap,” he explained. “But I think he then was able to turn it up a bit, and I was using every bit of my tyre I could.

“It was fun. Definitely had some really good overtakes. A little bit like the race in 2014, we came through the pack, did some good highlights for the year, hopefully, a few more.”

Commenting on the decision to use a contrary strategy to most around him, Ricciardo admitted some concerns in the early laps but eventually, it all came together.

"It went better than I thought,” he said talking about the long stint on the Softs. “To be honest, the first few laps, I think there was a little bit of contact in the first chicane, second chicane as well. I guess being in heavy traffic as well, but the tyres were feeling quite gooey.

“I didn't feel like I could get much out of them, but once we cleared a few guys and got clear air, we had some good pace. That was enough to overcut Ocon and those guys and the team got the quickest pit stop, so thanks to them and then gave us a charge at the end.”

The highlight was a bold, late move on Kimi Raikkonen for fourth into the first chicane as he used the extra grip of the Supersoft tyre.

“I'll give him (Raikkonen) the credit and say he raced clean and fair but I would have done it on anyone, to be honest," Ricciardo admitted.

Though it was likely he would have had the pace to pass regardless, the Baku race winner claimed his decision to strike from a long way back was about seizing the initiative.

“I think especially when you're coming through the field and you've got all of that momentum, it doesn't really matter who you're coming up against. I was aware the deeper I got towards the front, the harder the overtakes would be because they're normally going quicker," he said.

“The speed difference is normally not as much. In the end, I had blinkers on for the move, and I was happy to pull it off.”

McLaren does expect Fernando Alonso to remain with the team in 2018 should they switch to Renault engines for next season, according to Executive Director Zak Brown.

Bosses from both the Woking-based outfit and the French manufacturer were seen leaving talks during the weekend at Monza, along with Formula 1's Motorsport Managing Director Ross Brawn.

Signals on Sunday suggest an announcement is likely this week and a switch is becoming widely expected with Red Bull accepting Honda engines for junior team Toro Rosso.

Should that be the case, Brown anticipates the former association the double world champion, who won his titles with Renault, would see the chance for greater competitiveness at a team he enjoyed being with.

“Very likely, very likely,” he told Sky Sports weighing up the possibility. “Fernando loves the team, he’s as passionate as ever to drive. There have been some reports about [going to] IndyCar and things of that nature – he wants to be in Formula 1.”

After the Belgian Grand Prix, there were reports Alonso had told McLaren either to ditch the struggling Honda project or he would leave. The 36-year-old would strongly deny that prior the weekend at Monza and Brown doesn't see why he can't stay even if the decision is to remain with the Japanese manufacturer.

“He just wants us to be in a competitive situation, and I wouldn’t rule him out if things stay status quo,” he claimed. “With the stuff that we are seeing, that we’re going to review further this week, I wouldn’t say it’s a foregone conclusion if we continue with Honda that he doesn’t continue with us.

“We need to get more competitive. This weekend showed we’re just really not making any significant progress. How long can you wait before you have upset drivers, upset partners, upset fans?" he added.

“Everyone is hanging in there with us but it can’t go on forever.”

Other options have emerged with IndyCar and the Williams option still hasn't ended, indeed, Alonso would refer to the Grove team when commenting on his future.

“Many news is coming in the next weeks and hopefully all of them will be useful to me to make a decision,” he said. “I’ll keep looking at what options are there for next year, I need to study all of them and make a decision.

“We know what that [Renault] engine could do – Red Bull did five, six consecutive podiums, and we know what Mercedes could do as well with Force India this year, Williams on the first row of the grid [at Monza].

“So we know what are the options, we need to make a decision. We need to concentrate more on next year, not this year’s results. It’s an important week, for McLaren to make some decisions, and hopefully, we’ll all know something before Singapore so we can comment on it there.”

Sebastian Vettel has vowed Ferrari will continue to take the fight to Mercedes in the Formula 1 title chase despite suffering a setback at the Scuderia's home race at Monza on Sunday.

The four-time world champion lost the lead to main rival Lewis Hamilton for the first time in 2017, as the Maranello-based team simply couldn't keep pace with the Silver Arrows at the Italian Grand Prix.

Though the result was obviously not what he or the Tifosi had wanted, the third place finish still brought some joy as Vettel addressed the partisan crowd from the famous podium overlooking the main straight.

“It was entertaining, quite good fun,” he said of the race. “My start wasn’t so good as I had quite a lot of wheel spin. It took a while before I could really trust the car and make some progress. Then we got some good overtaking.

“We were a bit isolated and didn’t have the pace of the leading two drivers today. Nevertheless going around seeing the people gives us a lot of hope.”

It was always expected that the engine advantage Mercedes has would give them the edge at Ferrari, but the margin of victory on Sunday certainly surprised many, nevertheless, Vettel, who has never lost a championship in which he has previously led, is sure the result will not mark a drop in form over the remaining seven races.

“Even if this race has been difficult I know we have a very, very strong car and will have a very, very strong end of the season,” he claimed.

Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff believes Ferrari's lack of pace during the Italian Grand Prix suggested the Scuderia has taken a "step back" as their championship battle took another twist.

The Anglo-German team was always expected to be the heavy favourite at the 'Temple of Speed' as their engine advantage and a lack of emphasis on the tyres played to and against the respective strengths and weaknesses of Mercedes and Ferrari.

And so it proved, as Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas finished over half a minute clear of Sebastian Vettel in third and that also included them turning down their engines after just 20 or so laps.

But given how close the fight between the two teams was at Spa a week prior, Wolff admits he was taken aback by just how dominant his team was at their main rivals home race.

"For me, it looks like this weekend Ferrari has made a step back, somehow," he commented afterwards. "I think we were very solid, but they haven't performed in the way everybody expected.

"Red Bull started from the back of the grid, almost finishing in P3, [so] there's just something that is out of sync here, something is not how it should be, so I can understand [if] they're upset about it.

"This morning, based on the Friday long runs, we thought they would be closer, considering their Spa performance. I cannot tell you what the gap was [on the pre-race analysis] but certainly, 30 plus seconds is something that is an outlier."

Regardless of Ferrari's lack of performance, the Austrian was also keen to emphasise the ongoing improvements being made by Mercedes believing they can now become the class of the field at any circuit in any conditions.

"I think that the job the guys did analysing the deficit that we had in Spa was very awesome," he said. "Straight from the get-go [at Monza] we had a car that was really solid, and good to drive.

“During yesterday's qualifying, there were so many opportunities to make a mistake and the car was good from the get-go, lots of grip, good margin. It was the same today; we proved that we have recovered well from Budapest and also in a certain sense from Spa, and are progressing with the car."

Lewis Hamilton was able to lead a dominant Mercedes 1-2 at the Italian Grand Prix to lead the championship battle for the first time this season as he continued his good form after the summer break.

The Briton was able to take charge at the start and led an untroubled race that saw Mercedes lead all the 53 laps with Valtteri Bottas moving up to second in the early laps where he would remain until the checkered flag.

Sebastian Vettel ensured one Ferrari was able to stand on the podium in front of their passionate home fans but it was a difficult race for the Scuderia, as the German was well off the pace set by the Silver Arrows and had the charging Daniel Ricciardo closing in over the final laps.

The Red Bull was able to perform an astonishing drive to claim fourth having started 16th due to engine penalties. The Australian started on the Soft compound tyres and made his way through the field producing excellent pace to emerge fifth after switching to the Supersoft rubber car before passing a lacklustre Kimi Raikkonen to claim the well-deserved fourth place and was later voted driver of the day by the fans.

The Finn was fifth in the second Ferrari but struggled for pace before the pit-stop following Esteban Ocon, who ran second after Lap 1 and Lance Stroll, who started on the front row. Eventually, the 2007 world champion found a way past young guns, as the Force India and Williams had to settle for sixth and seventh respectively.

Stroll’s teammate, Felipe Massa followed him in eighth as Ocon’s teammate, Sergio Perez finished ninth. Max Verstappen had an amazing race start that saw him climb up to eighth position in the second Red Bull on the opening lap but a puncture following contact with Massa forced him to pit early and change strategy but would complete the top 10 to collect the final point.

Kevin Magnussen was unhappy with Verstappen’s driving as he was the last victim to the Dutchman's charge, forcing him out of the points in 11th followed by Daniil Kvyat who once again failed to score points keeping his points tally at four.

Nico Hulkenberg was not able to produce a result better than 12th as the Renault works team struggled compared to their leading customer, instead of fighting with their junior team as the German was followed by Carlos Sainz in 13th for Toro Rosso.

Romain Grosjean picked up some damage at the start and was not able to recover from that finishing 15th ahead of Pascal Wehrlein who came in 16th completing the list of drivers to finish the race.

It was another bad day for McLaren with a double retirement for the British team. Stoffel Vandoorne returned to the pits having lost power while sitting in the points while his teammate Fernando Alonso struggled and complained regularly throughout the race before eventually retiring.

Another disappointment for Jolyon Palmer as yet more reliability problems forced him to retire once again, after their battle at Spa, he would get involved in another spat with Alonso, picking up a five-second timed penalty for passing the Spaniard by cutting the second chicane, something the double world champion was also vocal about. Finally Marcus Ericsson pulled into the pits at the request of his Sauber team four laps before the end.

At the front, however, and does this 1-2 signify a shift in the balance of this year's championship? Hamilton now sits three points clear of Vettel, but now the next three circuits at Singapore, Sepang and Suzuka could all favour Ferrari once again, so only time will tell.

Max Verstappen was positive about Red Bull's prospects going forward despite losing out on a good result following a collision with Felipe Massa during the Italian Grand Prix.

The young Dutchman shone in the wet in qualifying and, as both RB13's looked to make up for engine grid penalties, made the best start moving up six places to eighth from 14th on the opening lap.

That would be undone not long later, however, as a late braking move on the Williams driver into the first chicane resulted in contact and a front-right puncture which saw Verstappen have to limp back to the pits.

“My race was basically finished after three laps,” he claimed. “We were always playing catch-up. We started on the Softs and then I had a puncture on that tyre, so I had to do a two-stop, [which] was a bit of a shame. So yeah, what can you do?"

After that, however, the 19-year-old would recover passing numerous cars as he claimed the final point in 10th.

“I think I still did quite a decent race, I was pretty happy with that,” he added.

The last move he would make came on Kevin Magnussen at the first chicane, but the Dane would get a good exit and challenge the Red Bull back into the Roggia chicane with the former McLaren driver accusing Max of pushing him off the track.

“To be honest I don't really feel it was an incident and I don't really care,” he said in response.

Looking forward, the engine changes in Italy were done to ensure a fresh unit can be used in the cars at the next three races, where the Milton Keynes team are expected to be stronger.   

Asked if was optimistic about Red Bull's chances, he said: “Daniel finished fourth, so I think the car was working really well. I was really happy even though I was playing catch-up. Hopefully, in Singapore, we can really fight for a proper podium.”

Lewis Hamilton described his Mercedes as a "dream" to drive after securing his sixth victory of the year at the Italian Grand Prix, claiming the championship lead as a result.

The Briton was undisturbed as he eased to the chequered flag at Monza, the fourth time he was won at the 'Temple of Speed' and perhaps the most euphoric as he comprehensively beat Ferrari in their own back yard.

Though the Anglo-German team were expected to be favourites, the 36-second margin between himself and Sebastian Vettel, surprised many, particularly as Mercedes went into engine saving mode quite with around 30 laps to go. 

“I'm happy. We did a great job, the team did an exceptional job this weekend,” Hamilton gleamed afterwards. “Valtteri also did a great job. We owe it all to them.”

Asked what was the key to the success, he added: “I think it's all just to do with the team pulling together and trying to maximise everything from the car, and Valtteri and myself doing the best job we can with the car but today the car was fantastic and really a dream to drive.”

Though the race is significant in that Hamilton now becomes the hunted rather than the hunter in the title battle, he doesn't see his dominant win on Sunday as the re-emergence of Mercedes as the outright front-runners.

"The last two races have been incredibly strong. We've just gone from strength to strength," said Hamilton. "The car felt fantastic. It's still close and a long way to go. Ferrari should be quick at the next circuit with the extra downforce they can put on their car so the fight continues.

"Ferrari might be a little bit quicker when we get to the tracks where you can add downforce. It will continue to be really close."

One thing about Hamilton and Vettel is they have both become polarising figures as a result of the success in the careers sometimes and, perhaps unsurprisingly given Ferrari's defeat, some in the partisan crowd didn't welcome the 32-year-old's victory with boos heard while on the podium.

Lewis wasn't too fussed by them, however, stating: “You know what? I love it here in Italy and I love the passion of the fans, particularly the Ferrari fans. They're fantastic. This energy is like nowhere else we see, except for maybe Silverstone. I respect it, I appreciate it.”

He did end with one little dig at his main rivals, though claiming: “Mercedes power is definitely better than Ferrari power. It worked well this weekend…"

Fernando Alonso believes the rules are "black and white" relating to his incident with Jolyon Palmer, which saw the Briton penalised for cutting the corner and gaining an advantage during the Italian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard was very vocal about the Renault driver over the radio after they came together for the second straight weekend, following Palmer's unhappiness of being pushed off the track by the McLaren last Sunday at Spa. 

Indeed, the double world champion later called it "karma" when he asked which position Palmer was in over the radio and was informed he had retired from the race but his wrath wasn't just limited to the 26-year-old.

"When we arrived at the chicane we were side-by-side, we braked late and I managed to take the chicane, but he didn't and he jumped it and stayed in front," Alonso explained.

"Usually that's something that's very clear in the rules: when two cars are side-by-side at the chicane and one gets to take it and one doesn't, you give back the position, but this time the FIA must have been having a Heineken.

"It was not up to F1 standards. There is not an interpretation possible there. It is black and white."

The former GP2 champion was given a five-second time penalty for the incident, but Alonso, who would also later retire his McLaren, believes running behind the Renault could have contributed to the problem.

"You lose 10 seconds, and the problems we had with the gearbox were because of the heat and having Jolyon in front another three or four laps," he claimed. "If grabbing the football with your hands is a penalty, it should always be a penalty."

As for Palmer himself, he disagreed with the Stewards decision but went on to say he'd rather not get involved in a back and forth with Fernando.

"I was ahead coming in the corner, he braked super late and forced me off the track," he told Sky Sports. "I'm sure it will be another talking point at the next race because Fernando is not very happy about it but I don't care."

Though it was a race that eventually ended in yet more disappointment, Palmer believes he continued to show better form.

"We were looking pretty good in the race, then the five seconds in the stop put us quite a long way back," he said. "The pace we had was good, quicker than all those in that group up to the edge of the points.

It's just a shame that on the Supersoft [in the second stint] I didn't get the chance to catch and overtake some people."

Lance Stroll reckons problems at the start, a slow pit-stop and flat-spotted tyres cost him a potential top-six finish in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.

Stroll lined up on the front row at Monza after a fine performance in a sodden qualifying, but fell to third after being blocked by pole-sitter Hamilton on the run to Turn 1.

The Canadian lost further ground after a rare blunder from the Williams pit crew, but held on under pressure from team-mate Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez to take seventh.

It was the 18-year-old's first points-finish since Austria, but he could not contain his slight disappointment.

"It was good. Could've been better," he told Sky Sports F1. 

"There were parts of the race that weren't perfect. Lewis didn't have such a great start which blocked me and meant I had to back off and give the position to Esteban.

"The pace was strong and it was a shame about the pit stop. That was our opportunity to jump him. A good P7 which was awesome.

"I had a massive flat spot so couldn't see much but racing is racing. I really enjoyed myself."

Nonetheless, Stroll says the memorable weekend was a positive learning experience.

"Every opportunity that I have to be in positions that I was today is strategy that I'll learn," he explained."

"Days like today and Baku, I feel like I'm getting better and better.

"[Starting on the front row] was a very special moment for me. Qualifying was probably the highlight of the weekend, being able to do what I did in those conditions."