Hamilton booed by Monza tifosi

Lewis Hamilton was booed by the Tifosi as he reacted to missing out on a fifth consecutive pole position at the Italian Grand Prix. The Mercedes star has been a thorn on the side of the home fans at Monza in recent years, but he was no match for pole-sitter Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton saw provisional pole quickly dissolve as Vettel and then Raikkonen went quicker than him in a stunning qualifying session - the Finn delivering the fastest lap in Formula 1 history.

With Hamilton and Vettel locked in a titanic title fight, prospects of a first Ferrari home win since 2010 have been raised by their power advantage over Mercedes in recent months.

That. Was. Tense! @LewisHamilton qualifies P3, @ValtteriBottas P4 - bring on the race!#ItalianGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/qe83iWXk2Q — Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) September 1, 2018

Although Raikkonen unexpectedly muscled in on the battle for honours, the home fans remain desperate for a red win.

And the Tifosi's passion boiled over while Hamilton reacted to his P3 on the grid as the Brit was jeered and whistled when speaking.

"They [Ferrari] did a solid job today," he said with a rueful smile.

It’s so close between us, they did a solid job today. Everyone in our team is working as hard as they can to make a difference. The race is now our focus and we’re looking forward to fighting hard tomorrow #ItalianGP #F1 @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/ZYGGhKFFF4 — Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) September 1, 2018

"We gave it everything we could - it's obviously incredibly close between us but they've had the upper-hand this weekend. Everyone in the team is working as hard as they can to make the difference.

"It's incredible close which is great for the sport and great to see so many fans here."