‘Great result’ – Lewis Hamilton piles praise on Mercedes after climbing from 19th to 5th at controversial Italian GP

SIR LEWIS HAMILTON was happy with his result at the Italian Grand Prix after fighting back to finish fifth.

The Mercedes star, 37, started 19th on grid after taking a fourth power unit of the season.

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Sir Lewis Hamilton was pleased with his result after a difficult test at Monza[/caption]

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Max Verstappen won again to make it five on the bounce[/caption]

Before the race the Brit joked about how bored he would be since overtaking is notoriously tough at Monza.

But Hamilton showed great panache and even overtook Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly in one swift move, which left race winner Max Verstappen impressed.

The Brit was pleased to get points on the board given the difficult circumstances – as he also suffered damage from debris on the first lap.

After the race he tweeted: “P19 P5. Great result, especially given how much of a struggle it was at the start.

“Thanks always to the team, feels good to bring home some points .”

But Hamilton was not pleased that the race ended behind a safety car as it brought back bad memories from Abu Dhabi last year – when he should have won the race and the world championship by finishing behind a safety car.

He told Sky Sports of the safety car incident: “It always brings memories back.

“That is the rule that it should be, right? So only one time, in the history of the sport, that they haven’t done the rule…”

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Verstappen was the beneficiary on both occasions and has now won the last five races, including his first ever at Monza.

The result means the Dutchman can possibly retain his title at the next GP in Singapore with five races still to go.