Lewis Hamilton takes record-breaking 69th POLE at Italian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position for tomorrow’s 2017 Italian Grand Prix in Monza – a record breaking 69th pole – in very wet conditions.

Lewis Hamilton may still be just behind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in this year’s driver’s title race, but he’s busy setting records with a 69th career pole in F1 at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

In wet conditions – which saw qualifying suspended for more than two hours after Grosjean crashed in Q1 – Hamilton excelled himself by taking pole by a country mile (1.148 seconds) from second place qualifier Max Verstappen.

In contrast, the Ferraris could only manage seventh and eighth – with Vettel the slower – although penalties for Verstappen – and team mate Ricciardo who qualified fourth – will see the Ferraris start in fifth and sixth.

Even more interesting than that is that the penalties for the Red Bulls will see Williams Lance Stroll start in second place tomorrow with Esteban Ocon starting in third place for Force India. Yes, it was a topsy turvy qualifying.

Crucially for Mercedes, Bottas will start in front of the two Mercedes, and that could mean a very solid before between Vettel’s ambitions and Hamilton’s car.

That said, the forecast for tomorrow’s race is dry weather, and that could see a real battle by the Ferrari with Bottas early on to give Vettel a chance of catching Hamilton.