Hamilton back on pole

F1 championship leader Lewis Hamilton put his McLaren on pole position for today's Canadian Grand Prix (starts: 7 p.m.) after pipping BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica with the last lap of qualifying yesterday.

Polish driver Kubica looked to have grabbed a stunning pole with a late lap of one minute 18.498 seconds at the same Circuit Gilles Villeneuve where he suffered the worst crash of his career last year.

But Hamilton, who took his first grand prix win from pole position as a 22-year-old rookie in Montreal last June, produced a blistering 1:17.886 lap with his final effort.

On a track which was already breaking up alarmingly in qualifying, Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen will start third on the grid with Renault's Spaniard Fernando Alonso alongside him.

Germany's Nico Rosberg qualified fifth for Williams and Brazilian Felipe Massa sixth in his Ferrari.

Hamilton was quickest in all three phases of qualifying, picking up just his second pole this season and the Briton said he had felt in the right mood.

"I've felt comfortable since yesterday (Friday) in the car. This morning was tricky for everyone, with the track quite slippery but we remained positive," he said.

Hamilton, the Monaco winner who leads Raikkonen by three points after six races, said he was surprised that he was able to find so much extra speed on his final lap.

"I had a feeling that Kimi was hunting me down so he would have beaten my time, so I knew I had to stick it up there. I found six or seven tenths on that lap which is incredible," he said.