Italian Grand Prix live: Nico Rosberg wins in Monza as Lewis Hamilton's championship lead is cut to two points

Follow the latest from the Italian Grand Prix in Monza

Nico Rosberg leads the field into turn one after Lewis Hamilton's terrible start (Getty)

Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg start the Italian Grand Prix together on the front row as the 2016 drivers’ championship battle heats up in Monza, with both Felipe Massa and Jenson Button confirming this weekend that they will not be on the grid next season. Follow the latest here.

• Lewis Hamilton takes pole position but starts with flat-spot concern
• Nico Rosberg in second with Mercedes well clear of the field
• Sebastian Vettel heads Ferrari challenge from row two alongside Kimi Raikkonen
• Williams of Valtteri Bottas starts ahead of both Red Bulls
• Jenson Button confirms he will not race in 2017 but remain McLaren ambassador
• Felipe Massa to retire at end of the season with Williams seat up for grabs

Follow the live action below...

Please allow a moment for the blog to load...

Starting grid:

1 Lewis Hamilton(Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 21.135secs

2 Nico Rosberg(Ger) Mercedes GP 1:21.613

3 Sebastian Vettel(Ger)Ferrari 1:21.972

4 Kimi Raikkonen(Fin)Ferrari 1:22.065

5 Valtteri Bottas(Fin)Williams 1:22.388

6 Daniel Ricciardo(Aus)Red Bull 1:22.389

7 Max Verstappen(Ned)Red Bull 1:22.411

8 Sergio Perez(Mex)Force India 1:22.814

9 Nico Hulkenberg(Ger)Force India 1:22.836

10 Esteban Gutierrez(Mex)Haas F1 1:23.184

11 Felipe Massa(Bra)Williams 1:22.967

12 Romain Grosjean(Fra)Haas F1 1:23.092 + five-place grid penalty

13 Fernando Alonso(Spa)McLaren 1:23.273

14 Pascal Wehrlein(Ger) Manor Racing 1:23.315

15 Jenson Button(Gbr)McLaren 1:23.399

16 Carlos Sainz(Spa)Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:23.496

17 Daniil Kvyat(Rus)Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:23.825

18 Felipe Nasr(Bra)Sauber-Ferrari 1:23.956

19 Marcus Ericsson(Swe)Sauber-Ferrari 1:24.087

20 Jolyon Palmer(Gbr)Renault 1:24.230

21 Kevin Magnussen(Den)Renault 1:24.436

22 Esteban Ocon (Fra)Manor Racing No Time

[4 September 2016 11:19 · Jack de Menezes]

Who will win the Italian Grand Prix?

[4 September 2016 13:07 · Jack de Menezes]

Lap 2: Hamilton got away fine, but his Mercedes then bogged down and went nowhere. Rosberg surged into the lead as Vettel moved in front of Hamilton, with Raikkonen, Bottas and Ricciardo following suit. Hamilton gets by Ricciardo through the Curva Grande on lap two, and there's a crash behind him. Nasr passes Palmer, but he squeezes the Briton leaving him noweher to go. They touch wheel to wheel, and the Sauber of Nasr is sent flying across the track into retirement with damaged rear-right suspension. Palmer limps back to the pits to receive a new front wing, and there's debris on the straight leading to the Ascari chicane.

[4 September 2016 13:25 · Jack de Menezes]

Lap 15: Sainz gets past Button for 10th, though it quickly becomes 11th as Bottas - on the fresh soft tyres - sweeps past both of them in the Curva Grande.

[4 September 2016 13:26 · Jack de Menezes]

Lap 16: Raikkonen dives into the pits as the first front-runner to stop, and he puts on another set of super-softs to confirm that he's on a two-stop strategy. That elevates Hamilton to third, while Rosberg leads by the entire length of the back straight.

[4 September 2016 13:28 · Jack de Menezes]

Lap 17: Vettel follows in next lap and arrives in the pits in a cloud of smoke as he locks up on the line. It's a slow stop as he heads back out just ahead of Raikkonen, and they go into turn one side-by-side. Ricciardo also pits, but he's well behind Bottas.

[4 September 2016 13:46 · Jack de Menezes]

Jolyon Palmer on his crash with Felipe Nasr:

We went side by side in turn one and then he drove me off the road in turn two. He was driving very unfair. How can you take the penalty when you're out of the race? He should have a grid penalty. There's better racing in GP2 and GP3 than that.

[4 September 2016 13:47 · Jack de Menezes]

Lap 30: Alonso passes Grosjean going into the Ascari chicane - a brave one that - to move up to tenth and into the points. Hamilton's reeling Raikkonen in, and he's 2.5 seconds off the back of the second Ferrari with Vettel a further three seconds up the road.

[4 September 2016 13:49 · Jack de Menezes]

Lap 31: Bottas pits for a second time, putting on the softs that need to go 22 laps until the end of the race. It elevates Ricciardo up to fifth, and it's a battle between the pair, Verstappen and Perez for the extra points today.