But he’s still seeking his first victory at the track outside Milan, which has hosted more F1 racing than any other circuit.
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“With these long straights the turbulence lasts for a long time and the closer you get, the less downforce you have”.
Rosberg set the benchmark in Q3 with a lap of 1m21.646s, but suffered a scruffy exit of the Roggia chicane, which meant Hamilton was well clear with his 1m21.358s opener.
“That last lap felt incredible”, Hamilton said.
“I am obviously very happy, ” said Hamilton.”I was only made aware of that record as I came into this weekend”.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen placed third and fourth, respectively, and also flip-flopped spots from the morning.
Rosberg said he “just wasn’t quick enough”, in response to be asked about the size of the gap to Hamilton. “It’s up to us to catch up”.
The great Juan Manuel Fangio recorded a hat-trick of wins at the so-called Temple of Speed in the 1950s, and following victories here in 2014 and again past year, Hamilton could equal his record this weekend. “Never in a million years did I expect my name to be mentioned in the same sentence and I am very proud of that”.
That left a private battle for pole, and Hamilton was far too good for Rosberg.
“I think the best explanation is he did some good laps and that is it”, Rosberg said.
Manor teammate Esteban Ocon was unable to emulate Wehrlein, suffering a failure on his auto early in Q1 that prevented him from posting a qualifying time.
Leading the championship by nine points, Hamilton could apply to replace the tyre if it is seriously damaged – as he did successfully earlier this season in Baku – but his opening stint could be compromised if stewards decide safety is not an issue.
“We’ve still got some work to do to analyse all the data and prepare the vehicle but I’m confident we can take the fight to the rest of the grid”.
Williams came to the fore at Monza by moving up as the third-fastest team in FP3 with Valtteri Bottas fifth and Felipe Massa sixth, ahead of both Red Bulls as Daniel Ricciardo claimed seventh ahead of Verstappen in eighth.
Conditions were flawless, with the temperature 28 Celsius (82 Fahrenheit) – but climbing.
Verstappen and McLaren’s Jenson Button started the day testing a version of the “halo” head protection device attached to the cockpits of their cars.
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Esteban Ocon’s Manor vehicle stopped at the first chicane in Q1 and Kevin Magnussen’s Renault was again all over the track, as both were eliminated early on.
