Hamilton wins Italian GP to move ahead of Vettel

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the Italian Formula One Grand Prix, at the Monza racetrack, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017. (Photo by LUCA BRUNO / AP)

MONZA, Italy — Lewis Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix virtually unchallenged from pole position Sunday and moved ahead of Sebastian Vettel to take the lead in the drivers’ standings.

Hamilton finished nearly five seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas while Vettel came third in his Ferrari, more than half a minute behind.

Hamilton now has 238 points, three more than Vettel with seven races remaining in what has developed into a riveting Formula One season.

Vettel had led the standings all season but Ferrari struggled in rainy qualifying conditions Saturday and couldn’t match Mercedes’ race pace, either, on a Monza circuit featuring long straights and high speeds better suited to Mercedes’ power.

Fly-away races make up the rest of the F1 calendar, starting with the Singapore GP in two weeks.