THERE could be fireworks at the Italian Grand Prix today, with Lewis Hamilton claiming his first pole position in eight races ahead of his Mercedes teammate and bitter rival Nico Rosberg.
The two men are no longer on speaking terms after Hamilton accused the German of deliberately crashing into him at the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks ago, forcing the Englishman out of the race. Rosberg finished second, increasing his lead over Hamilton in the drivers’ championship to 29 points.
All eyes will be on the two Mercedes today as they scrap for position at the start of the race.
Toto Wolff, the team manager, has warned them that Mercedes will not tolerate a repetition of what happened at Spa.
Hamilton qualified fastest for today’s race, beating Rosberg by more than a quarter of a second.
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Rosberg refused to give his teammate any credit for taking pole. When asked how his lap compared to Hamilton’s, he said: “Relative to my own lap, it [Hamilton’s pole lap] was an OK lap. Second position is still good.” Ominously, he added: “In the race anything can happen.”