Hamilton Takes 7th Straight F1 Pole at Monza; Ferrari 2-3

MONZA, Italy (AP) — Lewis Hamilton extended his recent stranglehold on pole position in Formula One, although Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg qualified only fourth at the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday.

Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel gave Ferrari fans something to cheer about at their home race by qualifying second and third, respectively.

It's Raikkonen's first front-row start since China in 2013.

Rosberg reverted to an older engine, the one he used in Spa two weeks ago, due to an unspecified problem on his new power unit.

Hamilton clocked 1 minute, 23.397 seconds around the Monza circuit. Raikkonen was 0.234 behind and Vettel was 0.288 back.

It was Hamilton's seventh straight pole and 11th in 12 races this season.

(Story by: Andrew Dampf, Sports Writer, The Associated Press)

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