F1: Vettel puts Ferrari on pole at Canadian Grand Prix

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Sebastian Vettel put Ferrari on pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix for the second consecutive year on Saturday, snatching top spot from Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton at the death.

It was the German's first pole in 17 Grand Prix tournaments and 56th of his career.

The importance of the pole was not lost on an emotional Vettel, who could not contain his jubilation, screaming his delight over the radio when his pit informed him "pole."

It was an eventful and dramatic qualifying session for Ferrari as Mercedes' Hamilton went top with the clock counting down, only to have Vettel bump him from top spot a tick later.

"I feel very, very happy for the team," Vettel said. "I am full of adrenaline and the last few weeks have been tough for us. The car felt very good and now I hope we can carry that into the race."

"You know what the feeling is when the car just keeps coming, you feel the grip and you go for it, that was one of those laps," smiled Vettel. "I am very happy the last 17 races, the last weeks have been quite tough ones.

"I really enjoyed it, I wish I could do it again just for the fun of it.

"I had to pace myself a bit in the first two corners because getting the tires to grip up wasn't straight forward, but after that it was just a joy the car was shouting, keep going, keep going."

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton (L) congratulates Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel after the German driver won the pole position during the F1 Grand Prix in Montreal, Canada, June 8, 2019. /VCG Photo

Lewis Hamilton said he hopes Sebastian Vettel's pole position performance in qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix will mark a turning point in their season for rivals Ferrari.

The defending five-time champion Hamilton, whose Mercedes team have swept to a record six successive season-opening wins this year, leads his teammate Valtteri Bottas by 17 points in the drivers' title race.

"This is fantastic for the sport," said Hamilton. "I love to fight with another team and today was just so close.

"I had no idea where we were going to be. At some stages, they were ahead of us and we were swapping all the way."

"I hope this is a turning point for them and it's going to be very close from now on and we're going to have a serious battle throughout the season. That would be fantastic."

Source(s): Reuters