Lewis Hamilton failed to hide his delight after claiming pole for a third successive time at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The McLaren racer held off Red Bull duo Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel as he looks to record his second victory in as many grands prix.
The 2008 World Champion, a winner in Turkey two weeks ago, has now given himself a fantastic opportunity of emulating his maiden Formula One triumph at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which occurred back in 2007.
"It has been a great day, a great start to the weekend, overwhelming for me," said Hamilton.
"There's so many memories coming back here. When they told me on the radio I had pole it reminded me of my first pole position here and my first win here in 2007. It's a special day.
"I am proud of my guys. I damaged my car a bit in practice and they fixed it - they are so professional."
The problem for Hamilton, though, is he will start on the softer tyre that has been disintegrating after a lap or two, whereas the Red Bull duo are on the harder tyre.
"I don't think so. I don't feel so," he said when asked if his tyre choice was a gamble. "Every race you are taking gambles I don't think we have gone into it feeling we should gamble this.
"Both tyres were very, very close. I chose to go with the Option tyres, we know the Option tyre doesn't last as long as the Prime, but the variation should not be as bad as tomorrow when there was a dirty circuit.
"Of course if a safety car comes around it could help, but we will see how long they last and do the best job we can. You never know what strategies are tomorrow and it will be interesting to see everyone's strategies."
However, he did add that he was not surprised that his Red Bull rivals had opted for the harder tyres.
"We knew that was their plan, so it was clear from Q1 they had done something different," he said. "It was quite clear to us. We just continued with the choice we had of tyres for tomorrow.
"It is definitely interesting to see the two different strategies, interesting to see how they pan out tomorrow with all the safety cars. I feel we are in the best position we can possibly be."
The Brit also downplayed fears that the softer tyres mean he will have to pit well before Webber and Vettel do.
"I am not worried right now, I am enjoying the fact that we got pole position," he said.
"We will look at it and analyse the different situations we can find ourselves in tomorrow. The best way is not to panic and do the best job we can."
Meanwhile, team boss Martin Whitmarsh offered more insight into the team's thinking: "We would hope for an early-ish safety car.
"But I think the quickest way to run the race anyway is to start on the soft tyre, run a short stint, then run on the prime for most of the race.
"If there's a safety car, it's a very strong strategy."
Related Links
Qualy: Hamilton ends Red Bull's pole run
Gallery: Finally, it's not a Bull on pole
