Canada GP marks Vettel's 21st pole

World championship leader Sebastian Vettel will be on pole for today's Canadian Grand Prix, set to get underway at 6pm this evening Irish time.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal was expected to be Red Bull’s weakness, but Vettel disproved that theory by claiming his sixth pole from seven races this season.

It is the 21st pole of the reigning champion’s stunning Formula One career, elevating the 23-year-old German into the top 10 on the sport’s all-time list.

Vettel, who put his car in the wall in first practice on Friday, will be joined on the front row by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard in such a position for the first time since last season’s Singapore Grand Prix.

Alonso's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa starts from third, Red Bull's Mark Webber in fourth.

Lewis Hamilton will start the race from fifth on the grid, with Jenson Button seventh.