Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton
claimed his first ever Monaco Grand Prix pole,
after edging out Mercedes team-mate Nico
Rosberg in qualifying once again.
The Brit has endured a frustrating time in the
principality, with his German rival getting the
better of him in the last two years.
However, Hamilton's time of one minute 15.098
seconds was enough to eke past Rosberg, with
Ferarri's Sebastian Vettel following home in third.
The British driver entered round six with three
wins under his belt and eyeing a "perfect
weekend" in Monte Carlo, where Rosberg was
hoping to follow up victory in Spain last time out.
A third straight Monaco win may now be beyond
the German, though, given ten of the last 11
races here have been won by the driver starting
in pole.
Rosberg had clocked the quickest time in the first
two parts of qualifying, only to be pipped by
Hamilton in the third after overcoming earlier
problems.
Vettel will start third on the grid after following up
an impressive run in the final practice session,
while Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo is in fourth.
Team-mate Daniil Kvyat is fifth, followed by Kimi
Raikkonen of Ferrari and Force India's Sergio
Perez in a surprise seventh.
The Toro Rosso pair of Carlos Sainz Jr and Max
Verstappen were either side of Lotus' Pastor
Maldonado in the top ten, though it emerged after
the race that 20-year-old Sainz had been hit by a
significant post-qualifying penalty by the FIA, and
will be required to start the race from the pit lane
on Sunday after failing to stop for weighing during
Q1.
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