Sebastian Vettel boosted his hopes of closing the gap to Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton by claiming Ferrari's first pole at the Canadian Grand Prix since 2001.

Vettel trails Hamilton by 14 points in the drivers' standings but will be confident of eating into that deficit after qualifying first with a track record of one minute and 10.764 seconds at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Reigning champion Hamilton has won six times in Montreal but he will have to work his way up from fourth if he is to match Michael Schumacher's tally of seven triumphs in Canada.

The Mercedes driver locked up on his final lap and was unable to move team-mate Valtteri Bottas out of second, while Max Verstappen pipped him to third as he continued a strong response to his woes in Monaco.

Vettel's performance means Ferrari will start from pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix for the first time in 17 years, and he sent a warning to his rivals.

"I was running a bit out of juice at the end," said Vettel over team radio.

After the high of triumphing in Monaco, Daniel Ricciardo qualified sixth behind Kimi Raikkonen, who ran wide onto the grass in his final attempt to improve his time.

Romain Grosjean failed to set a time in Q1 after his Haas blew smoke down the pit lane and failed to make it onto the track, while home hope Lance Stroll and Williams team-mate Sergey Sirotkin were eliminated in the first session.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari): 1:10.764secs
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes): 1:10.857s
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull): 1:10.937s
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1:10.996s
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari): 1:11.095s
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull): 1:11.116s
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault): 1:11.973s
8. Esteban Ocon (Force India): 1:12.084s
9. Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault): 1:12.168s
10. Sergio Perez (Force India): 1:12.671s