Hamilton, Alonso see their title hopes fade

Lewis Hamilton wrote off his Formula One title chances for another year on Sunday and then, ever the racer refusing to give up until mathematically forced to, had a rethink.

"Obviously that's that for the championship," he told reporters after finishing a hard-earned ninth for Mercedes in the Italian Grand Prix that he had won last season for McLaren.

"I blew it in qualifying and it was impossible to catch up.