Canadian Grand Prix qualifying results: Vettel takes pole, Hamilton starts fourth
SEBASTIAN VETTEL pipped Valtteri Bottas to take pole at the Canadian Grand Prix with a sensational final qualifying session in Montreal on Saturday.
Mercedes thought they were set for pole on Sunday after Bottas scored a lap of 1.10.857, becoming the first driver of the weekend to beat the 71 second lap mark, setting a track record in the meantime.
However, less than 30 seconds later Vettel bettered the Finn's time to ensure Ferrari are now favourites for the showpiece in Montreal tomorrow.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen answered his critics by grabbing third place in the dying seconds but Red Bull co-star Daniel Ricciardo struggled in the final qualifying session and could only manage sixth.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton avoided his worst ever grid start in Canada by finishing qualifying in fourth.
And Kimi Raikkonen will start from sixth.
Niko Hulkenburg, Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz made up the rest of the top ten.
It was a tense final qualifying session as F1's biggest names battled it out for top spot.
Bottas looked to have secured his place at the front of the grid until Vettel showed his true class, beating the Mercedes man into second by 0.093s.
Verstappen finished with a flurry to ensure he nabbed third spot after what was a hard fought Saturday afternoon for the Dutchman.
But ultimately, mistakes for Hamilton and Raikkonen cost them dearly.
The former seemingly just didn't have the pace, though. 0.232s off pole and 0.2s behind his team-mate.
Further down the grid, Fernando Alonso looked to find a good final lap in Q2 but it wasn't enough to secure a top ten finish.
Canadian Grand Prix Q1 results
Out in Q1: Grosjean, Hartley, Ericsson, Stroll, Sirotkin, Gasly
Canadian Grand Prix Q2 results
Out in Q2: Magnussen, Hartley, Leclerc, Alonso, Vandoorne
Canadian Grand Prix Q3 results
Top 10:
1. Vettel
2. Bottas
3. Verstappen
4. Hamilton
5. Raikkonen
6. Ricciardo
7. Hulkenberg
8. Ocon
9. Sainz
10. Perez