Six times world champion Lewis Hamilton smashed the Monza track record to take pole position for the Italian Grand Prix with the fastest lap in Formula One history on Saturday.
The Mercedes driver produced a sensational lap of one minute 18.887 seconds on a sunny afternoon to lead Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas in another front row lockout.
McLaren's Carlos Sainz qualified third, with Racing Point's Sergio Perez fourth and a surprisingly uncompetitive Max Verstappen fifth for Red Bull.
The session proved humbling for Ferrari with Sebastian Vettel going out in Q1 and Charles Leclerc in Q2 – the first time since 1984 that the team failed to qualify in the top 10 with either car at Monza.
Leclerc was 13th while Vettel eliminated in the first session, in 17th place, after getting caught in an on-track mix-up as drivers jostled for the perfect position seeking a slipstream.
It was the 94th pole of Hamilton's career – his seventh at Monza – and shattered the idea that a clampdown on so-called engine 'party modes' would affect his team's performance.
If Hamilton turns this into a win, he will just be one race victory behind Michael Schumacher's all-time record of 91.
"It’s not too bad. Fantastic performance from the team," said Hamilton. "Not the easiest, you’ve seen how close it was between us. It needed a clean lap and I got both.
"Valtteri was strong and kept pushing. I was a bit nervous going through the final sector.
"In the years I’ve been here I’ve had times we we had less downforce and grip, the speed through the Lesmos was awesome. It’s trying to finds the right balance which is not so easy."
Bottas, though, remains confident that he can make a race of it. "It was really close, as I was expecting," he said. "In the end I was on my own which is not too bad a place to be but you don't get any gains in a straight line.
"My long run pace compared to Lewis is good. It is going to be a good race tomorrow. It is still all to play for."
Sainz, meanwhile, was delighted with how his McLaren performed. "I've been feeling strong in qualifying and put in a strong lap," he said.
"The last lap I nearly messed up in Lesmo 1. I'm shaking a bit because at Ascari I had to just go for it.
"I felt like I was nailing Q1 ands Q2 and then Q3, run one I was a bit nervy. I needed a final strong corner. I risked the lot and went for it. Into Ascari I was like 'whoa, that was a bit late.'
"The Renaults I thought would be quicker but this is great."
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Belgian Grand Prix gallery
Results
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
THURSDAY FIXTURES
4.15pm: Italy v Spain (Group A)
5.30pm: Egypt v Mexico (Group B)
6.45pm: UAE v Japan (Group A)
8pm: Iran v Russia (Group B)
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Usain Bolt's World Championships record
2007 Osaka
200m Silver
4x100m relay Silver
2009 Berlin
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2011 Daegu
100m Disqualified in final for false start
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2013 Moscow
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2015 Beijing
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Opening Rugby Championship fixtures:Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
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Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
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INDIA SQUADS
India squad for third Test against Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar
India squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Itcan profile
Founders: Mansour Althani and Abdullah Althani
Based: Business Bay, with offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India
Sector: Technology, digital marketing and e-commerce
Size: 70 employees
Revenue: On track to make Dh100 million in revenue this year since its 2015 launch
Funding: Self-funded to date
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
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MATCH INFO
Bayern Munich 2 Borussia Monchengladbach 1
Bayern: Zirkzee (26'), Goretzka (86')
Gladbach: Pavard (37' og)
Man of the Match: Breel Embolo (Borussia Monchengladbach)
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
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