Hamilton in position for piece of F1 history

Briton chasing title and most poles all-time

MONZA, ITALY • If Lewis Hamilton breaks Michael Schumacher’s record for Formula One pole positions Saturday, it will be quite an accomplishment for the Mercedes driver.

Hamilton’s ultimate goal, though, is to win the Italian Grand Prix Sunday and replace Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel atop the drivers’ standings.

Hamilton recalled how he dominated qualifying at Monza last year, then wasted the pole position with a poor start in the race and finished second to teammate Nico Rosberg. The German went on to win the championship and then promptly retired.

“So the race is the most important part of the weekend,” Hamilton said Thursday. “This weekend, the ultimate goal is to win, to put a dent in that lead that (Vettel) has had all season.

“He’s had that smile on his face all year long being that he’s had that lead, so I’m looking forward to turning that upside down.”

Vettel, however, will be looking to strengthen his bid to become the first Ferrari driver to win the F1 title in a decade — and put an exclamation point on the Italian automaker’s 70th anniversary celebrations this weekend.

Vettel won four F1 titles with Red Bull before joining Ferrari for 2015.

“It’s like a drug. You want to do it again, want to get that feeling again, want to stand on top of the podium,” Vettel said. “It’s been a while and I want to do it again. How it would feel with Ferrari? I do not know. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

Hamilton needs one more pole position to break his Lewis Hamilton tie with Schumacher at 68. Setting the mark in Monza, where Schumacher is still revered for having won five of his record seven drivers’ championships with Ferrari from 2000-04, could provoke a strange reaction from the throngs of red-clad Ferrari supporters that attend the race each year.

As would a victory Sunday by Hamilton.

No matter who wins, though, the fans always rush onto the track for the most memorable podium celebration in the sport.

“It’s a unique design of podium for sure, because you’re towering or hanging over a sea of fans, which you don’t get to see anywhere else,” Hamilton said. “I think it’s amazing. I don’t know why the other tracks don’t design that.

“It’s always a sea of red. I would imagine for a Ferrari driver it’s an incredible experience being so close to the fans. You can almost lean over and touch them.”

Vettel leads Hamilton by seven points, but could be hard-pressed to match Mercedes’ outright power on a circuit featuring long straightaways and highspeed curves.

Vettel pushed Hamilton to the limit in Belgium last weekend, but the Briton ultimately won.

“There are some things I learned from Spa and we learned as a team and I as a driver,” Vettel said. “Here it’s a different track and generally it’s possible to overtake. The track layout suits Mercedes, but the performance we showed last week gives us hope.”

Amid such a tight title race with Vettel, it will be interesting to see if Mercedes orders Valtteri Bottas, the team’s second driver, into more of a supportive role for Hamilton. Bottas stands third, 41 points behind Vettel.

“I personally have not spoken to the team. That’s not really my job and that’s not how I like to operate,” Hamilton said. “You would hope that at some stage the team makes a decision on their own.”

Not that Hamilton has any qualms with Mercedes. In fact, after Ferrari’s announcement last weekend that it was extending Vettel’s contract for three more years — longer than many expected — it means Hamilton will likely stay put for a while, too.