Pierre Gasly has won his maiden Formula 1 victory for AlphaTauri in a chaotic Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

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Mercedes will have both cars start from the Monza front row for the first time since 2016, and such was the margin poleman Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas dominated qualifying that there’s little reason to believe anyone can challenge in the race.

Qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix took place against the backdrop of a technical directive banning the use of special qualifying modes β€” or β€˜party modes’, as originally coined by Lewis Hamilton β€” a long-telegraphed change to aid the policing of technical regulations and, just maybe, condense the battle for pole.

Effectively the internal combustion engine has become subject to parc fermΓ© conditions, its settings unable to be changed from the beginning of qualifying until the end of the race.

Lewis Hamilton has defied rule changes in part aimed at slowing his Mercedes to storm to pole at the Italian Grand Prix with an all-time speed record.

Hamilton lapped the 5.793-kilometre Monza circuit in 1 minute 18.887 seconds. At an average speed of 264.362 kilometres per hour, it set the record for fastest lap in Formula 1 history.

It was enough to pip teammate Valtteri Bottas by a slender 0.069s in a Mercedes front-row lockout, though the Finn is optimistic he has better race pace than Hamilton in his mission to slice into his 50-point championship deficit on Sunday.

Lewis Hamilton has taken pole with the fastest ever lap in Formula 1 while home team Ferrari failed to make it into the top-10 shootout for the second week running at the Italian Grand Prix.

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Valtteri Bottas set the fastest time of the weekend so far to take top spot in final practice at the Italian Grand Prix.

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Lewis Hamilton turned the tables on Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to top the time sheet at the end of Friday practice at the Italian Grand Prix.

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Valtteri Bottas went fastest ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in first practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, with home team Ferrari stuck outside the top 10.

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I preview the upcoming Belgian, Italian and Tuscan grands prix with last year’s podcast guests Jack Nicholls from BBC F1 and Luca Manacorda from Motorbox.com.

The Italian Grand Prix Strategy Report podcast features Formula Passion journalist Luca Manacorda.
Who was more cooked at the Italian Grand Prix: the F1 TV director or Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari career? Plus is Nico Rosberg really the new Jacques Villeneuve? And if so, what happens to the old Jacques Villeneuve? And what about John Newhouse?
Charles Leclerc celebrates at the Italian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc has scored a memorable victory in front of Ferrari's home crowd at the Italian Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc waves to the crowd after claiming pole position

Charles Leclerc secured pole position in a shambolic qualifying session on Saturday afternoon, but Ferrari failed to lock out the front row, putting the prospect of a first home win since 2010 in jeopardy.

Charles Leclerc finally wins his first race on a day Ferrari somehow managed to avoid making any mistakes, but the weekend is overshadowed by the death of F2 driver Anthoine Hubert.
The European season ends with Sebastian Vettel losing the championship initiative after Italian GP organisers used the wrong anthem on the starting grid before the race. McLaren chooses to field its first winless full-time driver line-up since 1995. Peter McGinley doesn't turn up for the show.
F1 Strategy Report 2018: Italian Grand Prix with Formula Passion's Luca Manacorda.
Sebastian Vettel in his pit box at the 2018 Italian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton took a commanding lead in the title standings after Vettel crashed on the first lap.
Sebastian Vettel in his garage at the 2018 Italian Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel is wilting under the pressure applied by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton celebrates at the 2018 Italian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton has seized a 30-point championship lead after a first-lap crash with Sebastian Vettel.