Red Bull's Max Verstappen qualified third, after a power unit scare in the second phase sent mechanics scrambling to fix his car, with AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly a stunning fourth on the grid.
The Dutchman stopped Hamilton from winning an eighth title with a gutsy turn in the final lap.
The six times world champion took the chequered flag at Imola 5.783 seconds ahead of team mate Valtteri Bottas, who started on pole position.
Lewis Hamilton took his 98th career pole position in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday
Hamilton, who had also topped Saturday morning's final practice session, never look like being challenged throughout the qualifying hour.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc qualified third with team mate Sebastian Vettel a distant seventh on a distinctly off day for the German.
Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton became the first Formula One driver to take 100 pole positions after lapping fastest for Mercedes in Spanish Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.
The pole was the 95th of Hamilton's career and seventh in nine races this season, continuing Mercedes' 100% record in qualifying.
Valtteri Bottas won the battle but Lewis Hamilton won the war, securing his sixth Formula One world championship on Sunday, despite finishing second to his Mercedes team mate at the US Grand Prix.
The win was a first for Ferrari in Mexico since 1990 and fourth of Carlos Sainz's career.
I am with my dream team, says Mercedes driver
Lewis Hamilton became Britain's first four-time Formula One world champion at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday.
Red Bull's double World champion Max Verstappen swept to pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Saturday with his sights set on a record 14th victory of the season.
'I watched Senna as a child and it would be an honour to match him. Now I'm just one win away but I hope to do even better'
Red Bull's double World champion Max Verstappen won the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday to set a Formula One record of 14 victories from a single season, as well as the most points scored.
The Mercedes driver smashed the Monza track record with a sensational lap of one minute 18.887 seconds to lead team mate Valtteri Bottas in another front row lockout.
Lewis Hamilton managed to make the most of the adverse conditions to take pole position for Sunday's race.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took pole for Mercedes at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix for a record seventh time on Sunday and extended his title lead to 62 points after relentlessly reeling in Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
'I do stand unified with them, trying to do what I can over here'
Lewis Hamilton can clinch his fifth Formula One world championship at Sunday's US Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton aims to stay in F1 for at least three more years
Tom Latham broke the 24-year-old record of Sachin Tendulkar of the highest ODI score made on a birthday
Maharashtra's Ruturaj Gaikwad created a new world record as he became the first batter to hit seven sixes in a over in List A cricket, enroute to a swashbuckling double century against Uttar Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Fernando Alonso hailed the Briton as a Formula One great and said he was happy to see him stand on the brink of a fifth world championship.
'It's been ultimately a really great race between two different teams and it ends with a bit of a ... negative. It does kind of feel like a deflated win'
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton overtook main rival Max Verstappen and Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas to win the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday and go eight points clear in the Formula One standings.
Hamilton already had more race wins, pole positions and podium finishes than any other driver in the history of the sport.
Hamilton's 98th career victory, from his 100th pole position, was his third win in four races
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will be staying in Formula One for the next two years at least after he and Mercedes announced a contract extension on Saturday.
Is Lewis Hamilton sufficiently appreciated at home?
IMAGES from the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday.
From January 1, 2021 to September 9, 2024 -- during which Joe Root hit 17 centuries, Kane Williamson has hit, Steve Smith has made six tons but Virat Kohli has managed just two centuries.
'I could imagine that, for me it would be like getting to the top of Mount Everest. I mean, what do you do next?' 'At the moment it just feels like another weekend'
India's ODI skipper Mithali Raj bettered the record for most matches captained in the ICC Women's World Cup, surpassing former Australian counterpart Belinda Clark, on Saturday.
Valtteri Bottas took pole position for Formula One's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix ahead of championship-leading Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton on Saturday.
Hamilton said he would still be "incredibly proud" to pull level with "an icon like Michael" and seven was way beyond his wildest dreams, but numbers and titles maybe meant more to those on the outside.
IMAGES from the Silverstone F1 GP on Sunday
The four-time world champion's fifth win of the season for Mercedes left him on 213 points to 189 for Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who finished second, and relishing the prospect of a stress-free family holiday.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen started the season with a commanding Bahrain Grand Prix win from pole position.
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