Lewis Hamilton delivered when it mattered to clinch the all-important pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday.

The Englishman was openly frustrated during a final practice session in which Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheets, and was slower than team-mate Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in Q1 and Q2.

However, Hamilton posted a time of one minute and 15.098 seconds to clinch the pole position that evaded him last year, edging out Rosberg and Vettel.

"It was not the easiest session," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "There were a lot of things that throw you off your rhythm and I did not have that rhythm until the last couple of laps. I am very, very happy.

"This track is so hard. It is difficult to express how difficult it is. In our session we had some problem with tyres and traffic, it was not easy so it makes it even more special. We had some really bad laps, so it was great."

Only once in the past 10 years has the Monaco Grand Prix not been won from pole.

Williams' Valtteri Bottas was the biggest casualty in Q1 and will start from 17th on the grid for Sunday's race, while McLaren's Fernando Alonso scraped into the second session.

The Spaniard was forced to pull up before having the chance to register a quick lap, though, and team-mate Jenson Button - 12th fastest - was also eliminated as yellow flags curtailed his progress when progression to Q3 looked on the cards.

Hamilton's set the pace with a lap of one minute and 15.304 seconds and, while Rosberg and Vettel desperately pushed for a quicker time, Hamilton strengthened his position by going faster.

Red Bull duo Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat start fourth and fifth, while Kimi Raikkonen came home sixth-fastest.

Lotus' Romain Grosjean - 11th fastest - is set to serve a five-place grid penalty following a change of gearbox.

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:15.098

2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:15.440

3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1:15.849

4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 1:16.041

5. Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) 1:16.182

6. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:16.427

7. Sergio Perez (Force India) 1:16.808

8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso) 1:16.931

9. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) 1:16.946

10. Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) 1:16.957