MONZA, Italy – Lewis Hamilton continued his dominant Formula One season by claiming the pole for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

Hamilton claimed the 94th pole of his Formula One career with a best lap of 1:18.887 during Q3, which put him .069 seconds ahead of his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

“It wasn’t the easiest session because of how close it was out there, so it really demanded a clean lap and I got that on both of my Q3 attempts,” said Hamilton. “I’m very happy with the laps I did and Valtteri was very, very close, pushing me hard. I made some big changes going into qualifying, so I was a little bit nervous before the session, but it all worked out well. A fantastic performance from the team today, particularly with the engine rule change. Hats off to everyone back at the factories, they’ve kept their heads down and this result is proof of the incredible work they do. I’m proud to be part of that chain and I’m excited to see what tomorrow will bring. It’s going to be a fun battle.”

Carlos Sainz Jr. put in a stunning lap to claim third for McLaren, just ahead of Racing Point’s Sergio Perez in fourth. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen could only managed the fifth fastest lap in Q3.

Lando Norris took sixth in the second McLaren, followed by Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, Red Bull’s Alexander Albon and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.

Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel continued to struggle. Leclerc managed to qualify 13th, but Sebastian Vettel failed to advance to Q2 and will start Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix from the 17th.