Italian Grand Prix: Hamilton beats Bottas to pole position

Hamilton's margin of 0.069 seconds highlighted his prowess on the circuit. He is in prime position to score his 90th career Grand Prix victory on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Hamilton set the fastest qualifying lap in Formula 1 history, at 164.286mph.

He also notched his 94th pole position.

Hamilton has won five of the seven races in 2020 and is the favorite to earn his sixth.

Hamilton said he was made to work hard to earn pole position and highlighted Bottas' fight.

"It was not the easiest," Hamilton said. "You saw how close it was and it really demanded a clean lap," he said.

"Valtteri was very close and pushing. I made some big changes going into qualifying and I was little nervous but it worked out just fine."

It was a disappointing outing for Ferrari as neither drivers made it into the top 10.

Charles Leclerc will start 13th and Sebastian Vettel, who was eliminated in the first session, earned 17th place.

He got caught in an on-track mix-up as drivers jostled for the perfect position seeking a slipstream.