Canadian Grand Prix 2016: Lewis Hamilton on pole despite close fight with Nico Rosberg as rain threat holds off

Hamilton's pace from Friday had disappeared but he still had enough to secure pole position for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton starts on pole ahead of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel in Canada (Getty)

Lewis Hamilton enhanced his impressive personal record at the Canadian Grand Prix to claim pole position ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg for Sunday's race.

The world champion, who is bidding to win his second race in succession, and fifth in Montreal, was just six hundredths of a second faster than Rosberg as he claimed the 53rd pole of his career.

An impressive lap from Sebastian Vettel, only a tenth shy of the Mercedes duo, sees the Ferrari driver line up in third on the grid with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo fourth.

Lewis Hamilton starts on pole for the Canadian Grand Prix (Getty)

It has been unseasonably cold in Montreal this weekend, but while qualifying took place under cloud cover, the threat of rain failed to materialise.

That is likely to have come as a relief to Rosberg, who struggled so badly in the inclement conditions at the last race in Monaco. Indeed in the dry, the championship leader provided Hamilton with the sternest of tests only for the Briton to display his prowess at the Gilles-Villeneuve Circuit with the quickest lap seen here since 2004.

Lewis Hamilton speaks with Nico Rosberg after qualifying (Getty)

Rosberg, who holds a 24-point lead over Hamilton courtesy of winning the opening four rounds, patted his team-mate on the back and offered him a congratulatory handshake which the Briton duly accepted.

But after claiming pole, Hamilton, who was also fastest in both practice sessions yesterday, will head into Sunday's race as the favourite to follow up his Monaco masterclass with his second victory of the campaign.

Sebastian Vettel starts third after putting in an impressive lap (Getty)

"It doesn't matter how far you are ahead as long as you are ahead," said Hamilton. "Today, I didn't have the pace I had yesterday, but it was enough.

Final Times after Qualifying:

1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 12.812secs,

2 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:12.874,

3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:12.990,

4 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:13.166,

5 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:13.414,

6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:13.579,

7 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:13.670,

8 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1:13.769,

9 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India 1:13.952,

10 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1:14.338,

11 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:14.317,

12 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:14.437,

13 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:14.457,

14 Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Haas F1 1:14.571,

15 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:14.803,

16 Carlos Sainz (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:21.956,

17 Jolyon Palmer (Gbr) Renault 1:15.459,

18 Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Manor Racing 1:15.599,

19 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 1:15.635,

20 Felipe Nasr (Bra) Sauber-Ferrari 1:16.663,

21 Rio Haryanto (Ina) Manor Racing 1:17.052,

22 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Renault No Time

"It was great to see how close we all were. That's great for the fans. It is going to be interesting tomorrow, but it is the best place to start."

Rosberg, who aborted his final lap after making a mistake at turn one, added: "The first lap was good but not enough to beat Lewis. The second lap I tried to pull one out of the bag, but it didn't work."

The second phase of qualifying was suspended for eight minutes after the so-called 'Wall of Champions' claimed its first victim of the weekend.

Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz mounted the kerbs at the final chicane before losing the rear of his car and crashing into the wall. His session was over, and he will line up in 16th on the grid.

Jenson Button, the McLaren driver who won so memorably here five years ago, failed to progress beyond Q2, and will start 12th. His McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso, who afforded himself a small "whoop" after sneaking into Q3, will line up in 10th.

Kevin Magnussen's Renault mechanics were unable to get the Dane's car ready for qualifying after he crashed out of practice, and there was little joy for his team-mate, too. Jolyon Palmer, the under-fire British rookie, was knocked out in Q1 and will start 17th. Elsewhere, Max Verstappen was fifth for Red Bull with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen sixth.

PA