Lewis' Monza pole at record speed
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An overjoyed Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton with his team members after qualifying in pole position for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MONZA (Italy) • Lewis Hamilton's party piece has been making records disappear and he was at it again yesterday, smashing the Monza track record to take pole position for the Italian Grand Prix with the fastest lap in Formula One history.
The Mercedes driver produced a sensational lap of 1min 18.887sec - at an average speed of 264.362kmh - on a sunny afternoon to lead Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas in another front-row lockout.
"It wasn't too bad," said the six-time world champion with a hint of a smile.
"It was a fantastic performance from the team - in terms of timing, when they put us out on the track," added the Briton, referring to Mercedes' avoidance of the jostling mass of cars seeking a slipstreaming tow from each other.
"It was not the easiest as you saw how close it is between us all, so it demanded a really clean lap - and I felt I got that, so I am very happy."
It was a record-extending 94th pole of his stellar career, and his seventh at Monza, and shattered the idea that a clampdown on so-called engine "party modes" would affect his team's performance.
"No party. No problem," said the team on their official Twitter feed.
McLaren's Carlos Sainz qualified third, with Racing Point's Sergio Perez fourth. Hamilton's closest championship rival Max Verstappen, 47 points behind after seven races, was fifth for Red Bull.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel will line up a humiliating 13th and 17th respectively for their team's home race - the first time since 1984 that Ferrari failed to qualify in the top 10 with either car at Monza.
"The best I can do," said Leclerc over the team radio of his effort.
Another win for Hamilton today would be his sixth in eight races and career 90th - one short of former Ferrari great Michael Schumacher's all-time record.
Mercedes are on course to win both championships again this season for the seventh year in a row.
According to the team's published 2019 accounts, they spent £333 million (S$603.5 million) but still reported a profit.
The results to end-December showed Mercedes made an after-tax gain of £14.7 million, up nearly 17 per cent from £12.6 million.
Turnover was £363.6 million, up 7.4 per cent from a previous £338.4 million, due mainly to increased sponsorship and marketing revenue.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
F1 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
Race day: Singtel TV Ch114 & StarHub Ch208, 8pm
ITALIAN GP GRID
1ST ROW
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes
2 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes
2ND ROW
3 Carlos Sainz (Esp) McLaren
4 Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point
3RD ROW
5 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull
6 Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren
4TH ROW
7 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault
8 Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point
5TH ROW
9 Alex Albon (Tha) Red Bull
10 Pierre Gasly (Fra) AlphaTauri
