Daniel Ricciardo claims maiden pole at Monaco Grand Prix

Ricciardo had been outshone by new team-mate Max Verstappen at the last Grand Prix in Spain, finishing fourth as Verstappen won.

And he hit back in perfect fashion with a lap of 1:13.622 to grab pole ahead of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, who were a tenth of a second and a third of a second slower respectively.

Sebastian Vettel was fourth quickest, Nico Hulkenburg fifth and Kimi Raikkonen sixth.

As for Verstappen, the day ended in disaster with the Dutch teenager crashing into a wall early before even getting out of Q1, meaning that he will start from the back of the pack.

Ricciardo's grin was on full power as he celebrating his achievement in Monaco, which he felt proved what he had been saying about his recent strong form.

"After Barcelona I feel like the last few races I've been driving well but haven't quite got maximum rewards," he said.

Ricciardo even managed to set his best Q2 time on a set of supersofts which means that this will be the set of tyres he starts tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix on giving him a potential strategic advantage over his rivals.

"We'll see tomorrow if it works. The plan was to go out on the ultrasoft on the first run in Q2 and at least try and do a good enough lap with that. We had the time on our side so we thought let's try see what a supersoft can do do and we just feel it maybe opens up a few more options for the race tomorrow," he added.

"We did a good lap on that, and it set us up well for Q3 as well knowing that I had the ultrasoft then that step in grip, I think I was able to maximise that and do the laps so let's see - I think today we're sitting pretty, hopefully it turns in our favour as well tomorrow."

Ricciardo will be one driver not hoping for rain tomorrow so that he can convert his pole position to an outright race victory. Whatever happens, he's not going to let anything ruin his success today or keep him awake tonight.

"I'll probably sleep easier knowing I achieved what I set out to do. The whole week's been a lot of expectation and excitement," he said. "It's cool to get my first pole and it's always been a very good track for me, I've always loved it here."

1. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull - TAG Heuer 1:13.622

2. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1:13.791

3. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1:13.942

4. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 1:14.552

5. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India - Mercedes 1:14.726

6. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:14.732

7. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:14.749

8. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes 1:14.902

9. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:15.273

10. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 1:15.363

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11. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams-Mercedes 1:15.273

12. Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Haas - Ferrari 1:15.293

13. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1:15.352

14. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes 1:15.385

15. Romain Grosjean (France) Haas - Ferrari 1:15.571

16. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) Renault 1:16.058

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17. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Sauber - Ferrari 1:16.299

18. Jolyon Palmer (Britain) Renault 1:16.586

19. Rio Haryanto (Indonesia) Manor - Mercedes 1:17.295

20. Pascal Wehrlein (Germany) Manor - Mercedes 1:17.452

21. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull - TAG Heuer 1:22.467

22. Felipe Nasr (Brazil) Sauber - Ferrari