SPORTS
* Ricciardo on pole in record time * Only second pole of Australian's career * Previous one was in Monaco in 2016 * Red Bull celebrating 250th start * Vettel on front row, Hamilton third
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo showed his Monaco mastery by dominating every phase of qualifying for Formula One's most glamorous race to seize pole position in track record time on Saturday.
The Australian, in blistering form since leading the way in Thursday practice around the streets of the tiny Mediterranean principality, made sure of the top slot for his team's 250th race start with a lap of one minute 10.810 seconds.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, last year's race winner in a Ferrari one-two, joined his former Red Bull team mate on the front row with world championship leader Lewis Hamilton lining up third for Mercedes.
Neither man could match the Australian's pace on the hypersoft tyres, with Vettel 0.229 seconds slower.
"We sent a statement on Thursday and have been quickest every session. Just the race tomorrow and then we will celebrate," said Ricciardo. "I have done everything I can so far, so let's finish the job tomorrow. I'm pumped."
Vettel, whose team mate Kimi Raikkonen starts fourth and ahead of Mercedes's Valtteri Bottas, said Ricciardo had "owned" the qualifying session.
Red Bull's hopes of locking out the front row of the starting grid disappeared before qualifying had even started after the gearbox on Max Verstappen's car was changed following a crash in final practice.
That incurred a five-place grid drop, which became academic when the 20-year-old Dutch driver failed to emerge for even one timed lap.
He will now start from the back of the field, on a track where overtaking is extremely difficult.
"It feels a little bittersweet. We're delighted with pole but we should have had two cars up there. It's frustrating with such a fast car not to have both cars on the front row of the grid," said team boss Christian Horner.
"This place bites hard if you abuse it. Max is a very fast driver, we know that, and this weekend he has a great car... He should have been competing for the front row today.
"There is no more brutal lesson than what he has just had," added Horner.
SECOND POLE
Hamilton leads Vettel by 17 points after five rounds of the 21-race championship, and the Briton will have been boosted at least by his car's performance after a disappointing showing in Monaco last year.
Ricciardo's pole was his second in three years in the principality, the second of his career and also Red Bull's second of the V6 turbo hybrid era that started in 2014.
The Australian was fastest in 2016 qualifying but lost out in the race to Hamilton.
"I gave it everything I could. I was up a little bit on the last lap but wasn't able to hold on to it," said Hamilton, chasing a hat-trick of wins on Sunday after Azerbaijan and Spain.
"It's still a long race ahead of us tomorrow. I don't think Red Bull have tried the other tyres yet so it will be interesting to see how we all go."
Behind the usual suspects, French driver Esteban Ocon qualified sixth for Force India with McLaren's Fernando Alonso, who missed last year's Monaco race to compete in the Indianapolis 500, seventh on the grid.
Renault's Carlos Sainz lines up eighth with Force India's Mexican Sergio Perez, who holds the current race lap record that is sure to be bettered on Sunday, in ninth and Frenchman Pierre Gasly 10th for Toro Rosso.
Test farewell on the cards? Virat Kohli drops huge hint about his retirement plans
Caught on camera: Karnataka BJP leader, cop engage in power slap contest, here's what happened next
Inside Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan's 7,000 square feet colonial-style studio in Chennai
14 youths arrested for causing havoc on Holika Dahan night in Ahmedabad
Man arrested for brutally killing a puppy after his video goes viral, citizens demand justice
What is floodlighting, Gen Z’s latest dating trend turning first dates into therapy sessions?
Viral video: Elephant mourns her lost friend, refuses to leave; internet breaks down in tears
Not Ratan Tata, Jimmy Tata or Noel Tata, majority of ownership in Tata Group is held by...
Meet Yasmeen Premji and Rishad Premji, wife and son of Azim Premji, and the backbones of Wipro
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway Update: Surat-Maharashtra stretch delayed, completion pushed to...
What is Ketamine? The 'doctor prescribed' drug linked to Elon Musk’s mental health treatment
Vadodara police chief issues statement on deadly car accident: 'Multiple investigative teams are...'
Meet world's five richest women: From L'Oréal to Amazon, which companies are they associated with?
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif gives PKR 2.5 mn to viral footballer-turned-jalebi seller Muhammad Riaz
Meet Grecia Munoz, second wife of Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal, she is also known as...
4 assailants, 7 bullets: How a man waiting to have 'sehri' in UP's Aligarh was shot dead
Amritsar: 5 injured after man attacks pilgrims with iron pipes inside Golden Temple
SpaceX, NASA launch mission to bring back astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore from ISS
Donald Trump urges Vladimir Putin to spare lives of Ukrainian soldiers: 'Good chance war can...'
Rohit Sharma enjoys family vacation in Maldives ahead of IPL 2025, pics go viral
Shah Rukh Khan shared his plan to 'flirt' with Priyanka Chopra, his old tweet sparks debate
Asaduddin Owaisi: Shameful that mosque was attacked in presence of police in Maharashtra
Viral Video: Sachin Tendulkar plays Holi prank on Yuvraj Singh, drenches him with water gun; WATCH
Will India-Canada relations improve with Mark Carney becoming Prime Minister? DETAILS here
Has Akshay Kumar teamed up with GOAT director Venkat Prabhu for a pan-India film? Deets inside
Who is Mark Carney? Know in details about Canada's new Prime Minister
When Aishwarya Rai was labelled 'domesticated' by father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan
New Speed Record Set: World's fastest train debuts at 450 km/h, know which country is behind it?
Amid Aamir Khan's new girlfriend Gauri Spratt's revelation, Kiran Rao pens note, calls him 'VVVIP'
Amitabh Bachchan puts out special message for son Abhishek Bachchan's Tashkent Film Festival debut
Heavy rains splash Delhi-Noida-Ghaziabad on Holi: Soaring daily temperature comes down
As Alia Bhatt's cake-cutting moment goes viral online, netizens come up with memes: 'Copied from...'
Ranya Rao Gold Smuggling Case: Tarun Raju linked to operation, sent to 15-day judicial custody
Natasa Stankovic drops adorable dance video with son Agastya amid Hardik Pandya's rumoured romance
Pakistan: Days after train hijack, blast in South Waziristan, was TTP behind mayhem? Details here
Grecia Munoz, Deepinder Goyal join in Holi festivities at Blinkit store, WATCH viral video