Hamilton holds of Ferraris to claim Monza pole

Lewis Hamilton held off the challenge of Ferrari to take pole position for the Italian Grand Prix as a fine weekend for the defending Formula One world champion continued.

The Mercedes driver - fastest in all three practice sessions - set the pace with a time of one minute and 23.397 seconds at Monza to claim top spot for the 11th time in 12 races this season.

But the Briton will be wary of the threat posed by the Ferraris at the start of Sunday’s race at their home circuit after Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel rounded off the top three.

Raikkonen finished 0.234 seconds adrift while Vettel was 0.288secs behind.

Hamilton’s team-mate Nico Rosberg, who was forced to switch back to an old engine used at the Belgian Grand Prix before qualifying, was only good enough for fourth on the grid.

Williams’ Felipe Massa qualified ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas in fifth, with the Force India’s of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg - who suffered a loss of power on entry to the pit lane - separated by the Lotus of Romain Grosjean in eighth.

Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson completed the top 10, while the Red Bulls, the McLarens and the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz will occupy the spots at the back of the grid as penalties bite.

The Red Bull duo of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo - who switched back to an engine from Friday practice - ended the session 14th and 15th but will fall to the back due to penalties of 15 and 25 places respectively.

Sainz qualified 13th will join them at the rear following a 10-place sanction, with McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso’s 16th and 17th-place finishes were made immaterial by their five and 10-spot drops.

The beneficiary of those various penalties is Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen after the Dutchman failed to set a time, with bodywork flying off his car on his only attempt.

1.    Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:23.397
2.    Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:23.631
3.    Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1:23.685
4.    Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:23.703
5.    Felipe Massa (Williams) 1:23.940
6.    Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1:24.127
7.    Sergio Perez (Force India) 1:24.626
8.    Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 1:25.054
9.    Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) 1:25.317
10.  Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) 1:26.214