Breaking news;Lewis Hamilton enroll in a new deal with McLaren…..

Breaking news;Lewis Hamilton enroll in a new deal with McLaren…..

The Mercedes driver was briefly fastest of all in Q2 and fourth-quickest after the first runs in Q3. But he failed to improve on his final lap and was relegated to sixth by the Ferrari drivers.

With team mate George Russell qualifying third, a tenth of a second off pole-winner Lando Norris, Hamilton felt he’d missed a chance to take the top spot on the grid.

“That could have been pole,” he told Sky. “I think I could have been on the front row, at least on the front row, and I just didn’t do the job at the end.

“I lost a tenth and a half through turn one and two, then I lost another tenth through the last corner. So there’s no one to blame but myself.”

Hamilton has won twice this year but hasn’t taken pole position yet. He has seldom out-qualified Russell and admitted he still hasn’t figured out why he’s struggling to get the best from the car over a single lap. “Qualifying has been my weakness for a minute now and I can’t figure it out,” he said. “I’ll keep trying.”

This is Hamilton’s last appearance at an Italian round before he joins Ferrari next year. Mercedes announced today Andrea Kimi Antonelli will take his place next season. Hamilton glumly reflected that his 18-year-old replacement may be able to do better.