MONZA, ITALY// Lewis Hamilton is intent on bringing the curtain down on the European season in much the same way he raised it four months ago - with a victory from pole position.
The British driver finished fastest in qualifying yesterday for the first time in eight races to claim the upper hand over teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg ahead of today's Italian Grand Prix.
The two Mercedes-GP cars locked out the front row for the seventh time this season, while Valtteri Bottas of Williams posted the third quickest lap of the day.
Hamilton has not started at the front of the field since the Spanish Grand Prix in May, the first of the traditional European races and what would become his fourth consecutive win.
In the seven races since, he has triumphed just once - at his home race in Silverstone - while Rosberg has surged ahead, building up a 29-point lead over his childhood friend.
That friendship has been tested in recent weeks with both drivers feeling the strain of an intense, two-car, inter-team championship battle.
At the last race, in Belgium, Rosberg deliberately collided with Hamilton, ending the 2008 world champion's afternoon and igniting what is being talked up by some observers as a feud on a par with that of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, who famously clashed while teammates at McLaren in 1988 and 1989.
While Rosberg has at times appeared flustered and was forced last week to apologise for his Machiavellian actions in Spa-Francorchamps, Hamilton has continued to appear calm throughout and he looked assured as he claimed his third pole in six years at Monza.
"I'm very proud of my guys on my side of the garage," Hamilton said, driving home the division Mercedes are experiencing within as the team chase the constructors' championship.
"They have been through the difficult times with me and they've done a remarkable job bouncing back. We've done this as a team and I'm really proud to be up here for them."
If Hamilton, 29, is looking for omens in Italy, he can take belief from the fact 11 of the past 14 grands prix here on the outskirts of Milan have been won by the pole-sitter, though ominously he was the last man not to win the race starting first, back in 2009.
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With lingering mistrust in the Mercedes garage and two drivers seemingly not on speaking terms - Hamilton and Rosberg have appeared at two lengthy news conferences in the past three days and never made as much as fleeting eye contact.
Inevitably, questions have been asked whether the two cars will be allowed to fight for position on-track. Both men maintain it is not an issue.
"We're free to race," Hamilton said. "That was the decision last week, so it continues as usual."
Rosberg said: "It's not changed. Already before, when we started the season, the message has been clear, so there's no real change at the moment. From that point of view, it's the same as always."
Rosberg, who earlier in the day had a gearbox problem that resulted in him missing almost the entire final practice session, had arrived in Italy having taken pole at the previous four race weekends.
"Starting from second place is still a good position," the German said. "It's a long race you know; everything can happen, so we just need to try to get a good start and have a good race.
"It's so great though that, even on a track like Monza, where it's such a different track to all the others, we're still dominant.
"Of course it's only qualifying and the race remains to be seen, but it's really awesome. The team is doing a fantastic job."
The same cannot be said of Ferrari, the underperforming Italian marque tasked with appeasing their loyal and expectant tifosi fans at their home race, which they last won in 2010.
Fernando Alonso, the two-time champion, will start from seventh, behind the two Mercedes, two Williams and two McLarens, while teammate Kimi Raikkonen, a 2007 world champion, failed to progress to the final qualifying session.
The Finn, watched on by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, finished 12th fastest, but will start one position higher following Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso being handed a 10-place grid penalty after he changed his engine for the sixth time this season.
That repositions him among the backmarkers, where the Lotus pair of Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean both succumbed to elimination in the first part of qualifying, with Kamui Kobayashi of Caterham just 0.39 seconds behind.
The Japanese driver, who was replaced in Belgium by Andre Lotterer, is out to ensure his ability to finish ahead of both Marussia pilots and teammate Marcus Ericsson will stand him in good stead as he fights to retain his race seat.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
Lewis Hamilton ends pole position wait at Italian Grand Prix
Mercedes-GP teammates reaffirm that they are free to fight each other for victory at Monza in the 53-lap race.
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