Hamilton takes pole at Monza GP

Lewis Hamilton of McLaren has won the pole for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and Giancarlo Fisichella will make his Ferrari debut from 14th on the grid.

Hamilton storms to pole for Italy GP

• McLaren's Hamilton on front row with Adrian Sutil• Button and Brawn team return to formPolitics ought to be put on hold for at least 90 minutes this afternoon as the Italian Grand Prix returns the emphasis to the 2009 championship rather than who might have affected the outcome of last year's race in Singapore. Crashing deliberately is unlikely to be a strategic part of 53 laps spent racing on the fastest track in Formula One, although even the best intentions could fall foul of the first chicane as 20 closely bunched cars attempt to negotiate the notorious bottleneck at 50mph.Lewis Hamilton is in the best position to avoid a repeat of his elimination on the first lap of the previous race in Belgium. Apart from starting from pole for only the second time this season, Hamilton will have additional help from his McLaren's Kers energy retention system on the 600-metre charge to the chicane. Kimi Raikkonen will be making similar use of the 6.6-second power boost as the Ferrari starts from third and tries to overhaul the Force India of Adrian Sutil, who is on second. Hamilton and Sutil, good mates and former adversaries in Formula Three, are unlikely to have their friendship tested if, as expected, Hamilton leaves the field standing."I'm really happy to see Adrian here," Hamilton said. "It's a long time since we've sat together in a press conference – at least four years. Qualifying was very close and it's such a great feeling to be able to put together a good lap. When you have a single shot right at the end of qualifying and it comes off, it's so exhilarating. I really didn't anticipate being on pole."Sutil had the same feeling even though Giancarlo Fisichella signalled the dawn of a dramatic improvement for Force India by taking pole two weeks ago at Spa. Sutil's previous best qualifying had been seventh for his home grand prix, otherwise the German had been more familiar with the back of the grid.Although using a Mercedes engine similar to Hamilton's McLaren, the Force India does not have Kers, a serious disadvantage at the start at Monza."The car is amazing, really quick, unbelievable," Sutil said. "It's such a different feeling in a car that gives you a chance. The good feeling of being a racing driver is back and being here with Lewis adds to that. After two years consistently at the back, you forget the feeling of fighting for pole and racing to win. You get the passion back and drive much easier with a smile on your face when at the front. But I must admit it's not the best feeling to have Kers cars around me at the start. We saw what happened in Belgium when my team‑mate lost the race."Sutil was referring to Fisichella being overhauled by Raikkonen's use of Kers at Spa, the only circuit similar to Monza in terms of requiring the cars to run minimum downforce, a set-up that suits the Force India and, to a lesser degree, the Brawn.Fifth and sixth fastest times for Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button was an indication of the extra fuel carried by the Brawns and disguised a timely return to form for the British team as the championship enters the final five races."I'm really happy with sixth position," Button said. "Rubens and I have been so close on lap times all weekend and he's ended up just fifteen-hundredths ahead of me, which is the difference between getting your head down on the straights [to reduce aerodynamic drag at 205 mph]. I obviously didn't do it enough!"We got the best out of the car today and it felt good on the heavy fuel load, which is important because it's not just about qualifying, you have to consider your race. It's been a positive day and I'm confident that we can have a good race."It has been a while since Button exuded such confidence at the end of qualifying, the leader of the championship poised to make the most of a one-stop strategy while the front three drivers stop twice. A pit stop at Monza can cost up to 28 seconds from leaving the track to rejoining."Rubens and Jenson drove extremely well with our chosen one-stop strategy to secure fifth and sixth positions," Ross Brawn said. "The closeness of their lap times shows that they achieved everything possible from the car. We have the majority of the Kers cars just ahead of us so, provided our drivers get a good start, there is everything to play for in the race."Button will also have been heartened by Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber struggling to match the pace of their championship rivals. The Red Bull pair have been restricted in mileage by Renault engine failures, which have eaten into the allocation of eight engines per driver for the season. The use of a ninth engine will bring a 10-place grid penalty."We'll see how the strategy pans out," Webber said. "We've got to try and grab everything we can now. I'm pretty happy with the job I did today but we're just lacking a bit of pace. We'll do what we can and salvage something from 10th – it's certainly possible."Depending which forecast you read, today's race could be similar to last year's and run in the rain. Vettel was unbeatable after starting from pole. Given Hamilton's record in wet conditions, the world champion is in the perfect position to win before the sport returns to less attractive business away from the race track.Lewis HamiltonFormula OneMotor sportMaurice Hamiltonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Hamilton gives champion advice to Button

Lewis Hamilton has warned Jenson Button to expect the unexpected after taking up the mantle as the new Formula One world champion.

Hamilton maintains title dream

Lewis Hamilton is refusing to give up hope of retaining his Formula One title until the maths tell him otherwise.

McLaren shine on Abu Dhabi debut

McLaren shone in opening practice for the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix today with Lewis Hamilton on top in the afternoon and Heikki Kovalainen quickest after nightfall.

Hamilton and Button lead in practice

• Lewis Hamilton leads from Jenson Button by only 0.096sec• Sebastian Vettel third fastest on new grand prix circuitLewis Hamilton and Jenson Button formed a British one-two in first practice for the inaugural Abu Dhabi grand prix today. Last year's world champion and the driver who deposed him 12 days ago in Brazil were separated by only 0.096 seconds after the opening 90 minutes of track action at the £800m Yas Marina circuit.If current rumours eventually prove to be true, Hamilton and Button may even be team-mates at McLaren next season should the latter fail to agree a new deal with Brawn GP. For now they remain on opposing sides and both looked impressive as they set about tackling a venue that the F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone feels will never be beaten.Naturally, there was a settling-in period for all the drivers, with Jaime Alguersuari in his Toro Rosso the first to post a timed lap of 1min 57sec. But by the conclusion of the session, Hamilton had just managed to dip under 1min 44sec, with the best of his 18 laps timed at 1:43.939, with Button in close attendance at 1:44.035.Button, admitting to feeling far more relaxed with the title under his belt, was the first to suffer a spin, although it was nothing major. The 29-year-old pushed too hard into one corner as he emerged out of the shadow of the hotel that straddles the 21-turn track.Sebastian Vettel, looking for a small degree of consolation for this season by finishing second behind Button in the standings, was third quickest, 0.214sec behind Hamilton.Button's team-mate Rubens Barrichello still has a say, though, after failing to take the title race down to the wire in Brazil 12 days ago when he finished only eighth from pole position. Barrichello finished just 0.054sec behind Vettel on the 5.554km track, and 0.268sec adrift of Hamilton, with the top four easily clear of any of their rivals.BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld was fifth overall, but 0.728sec down, followed closely by Sébastien Buemi in his Toro Rosso and Adrian Sutil for Force India.The Brazilian grand prix winner Mark Webber was eighth, and the only other driver to finish within a second of Hamilton, with the top 10 completed by Alguersuari and Toyota's Jarno Trulli.The Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Giancarlo Fisichella were down in 15th and 18th places, with Renault's Romain Grosjean bringing up the rear, albeit nearly 2.5sec off the pace.Formula OneLewis HamiltonJenson ButtonMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds