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MONACO -- Nico Rosberg put himself in position to win the Monaco Grand Prix and emulate his fathers achievement of 30 years ago. Rosberg clinched his third consecutive pole and a fourth straight for Mercedes in Saturdays qualifying, finishing ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton and defending champion Sebastian Vettel. In 1983, Rosbergs father -- the former world champion Keke Rosberg -- took the checkered flag in Formula Ones showcase race. However, the younger Rosberg seems more interested in whether his car can go the distance -- having fallen short in previous races -- than securing a father-and-son double. "Its always nice to hear statistics like that, but it doesnt change much for tomorrow," said Rosberg, who won his only career GP from pole at the China GP last year and whose best result this season was fourth in Malaysia. Rosberg has reason to be cautious, because Mercedes also took the front row in qualifying at the Spanish GP two weeks ago -- only to fall way behind in the race, with Rosberg more than one minute behind race winner Fernando Alonso in sixth and Hamilton a full lap behind in 12th. "In Barcelona we were struggling lot in the race and I finished 70 seconds behind the winner," Rosberg said. "Were improving step by step, but there are still a lot of questions remaining. Its still our weakness." As long as Rosberg starts well, he shouldnt have those problems in Monaco, which is the hardest circuit in F1 to overtake on. But Vettel, who was fourth last year despite being ninth on the grid, has not ruled out his chances of victory. "I still think we have a great chance from P3 (on the grid)," the German said. "I dont know. There are a lot of laps here, 78. If all goes well hopefully the Mercedes will struggle, but we cant rely on that. We have to look after ourselves first." Vettel qualified ahead of Red Bull teammate and last years winner Mark Webber. Red Bull were 1-2 with just over one minute remaining in qualifying, but Mercedes again showed it is near-untouchable on one-lap speed, despite tricky weather conditions with the track damp from frequent bursts of rainfall around lunchtime and again early into the afternoon session. "It was changing so much (that) you have to be on the right tires at the right time," said Rosberg, who clocked one minute 13.876 seconds. "It definitely could have been easier. The conditions were all over the place, and then it started drizzling again so the lap times got a lot slower." Surprisingly, Hamilton was not pleased with his run -- although perhaps that was more to do with the fact he was again beaten by his teammate. "Ive been struggling all weekend and my pace has been slacking. Ive struggled with the car and this is the first time thats happened since 2005," said Hamilton, who won the F1 title in 2008. "Its been a difficult weekend, so Im happy to have been able to lock out the front row for the team. Its been a massive improvement for me." Hamilton is baffled as to why Rosberg keeps beating him. "It is a new situation for me, one that I seem to be dealing with pretty well," Hamilton said. "Already to be second is a bit of a blessing for me to consider how slow I was in practice. Hopefully in the next couple of races we will see (an improvement). Red Bull won the last three Monaco GPs -- all from pole -- but it was still a good afternoon for Vettel because he finished ahead of his two main rivals. Kimi Raikkonen starts from fifth place while Alonso is sixth and the Spaniard needs circumstances to go massively in his favour. Raikkonen is only four points behind Vettel and Alonso cut the deficit to 17 after winning in Barcelona. "Im happy theres not a Lotus or Ferrari ahead," Vettel said. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa goes from the back of the grid. The Brazilian was unable to start qualifying after a heavy crash in the mornings third and final practice session, from which he escaped unharmed. He would have incurred a five-place grid penalty anyway because Ferrari had to fit a new gearbox following his crash. "I think for sure it is the worst track to have this problem. But I think we need to be positive for tomorrow," Massa said. "Its very difficult to overtake here, we know, but anything can happen here in a race. Maybe the safety car comes out." Massa, Frenchman Romain Grosjean and German Adrian Sutil had all crashed in practice. . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. The exciting Blues Super Rugby youngster Rieko Ioane has been selected for the All Blacks end-of-year tour of the U.S. and Europe.Ioane, 19, enjoyed a solid debut campaign with 10 tries in nine games for the Blues.?He also topped the league for clean breaks, defenders beaten and metres run.The outside back will be joined by squad apprentice Jordie Barrett, the 19-year-old younger brother of star five-eighth Beauden Barrett, as the world champions will take in Chicago, Rome, Dublin and Paris on a whirlwind four-week tour as they look to complete a perfect 2016 campaign..A third Barrett brother, Scott, 22, has also been named as injury cover for Sam Whitelock, who is facing a spell on the sidelines with a sprained ankle.For Ioane, the call-up realised a childhood dream after he also took part in the All Blacks Sevens unsuccessful Rio Olympics tilt under Sir Gordon Tietjens.I wasnt expecting to be anywhere close to this team, Ioane said.Im just happy enough to be the coachs choice, to pick me.Ioane will likely be used as a winger on tour, as opposed to centre, as the All Blacks look to develop him into a world-class finisher.Hes a big man, a fast man but by no means the finished product, and theres a lot of conditioning work we can put into him, coach Steve Hansen said.Itll give us another man on the end of the chain, a la Julian Savea or Waisake Naholo, who are both big men as well.Ioane, for his part, had no qualms playing anywhere Hansen requested. He is just happy to learn at the highest possible level, saying he is fit and ready to fill in.Id be happy to be a prop if I coulld, Ioane said.ddddddddddddIt was awesome going to Rio, but my dream since I was little was always to be an All Black and to get that call was huge.Hansen hoped the inclusion of players such as Ioane, Damian McKenzie, Jordie Barrett and Anton Lienert-Brown would future-proof his side.He said his work in re-establishing the squad after the loss of several stars including Richie McCaw remained incomplete, despite a near-flawless year.The All Blacks blitzed Wales 3-0 in their June series before strolling to clean sweeps in the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup. The side also secured a record 18th consecutive Test win, against the Wallabies on Saturday, with the chance to stretch the streak to 22 on tour.Itll give us the opportunity to continue to blend this young talent with a more experienced group, so we can future-proof the side going forward, Hansen said.Backs: Ben Smith, Damian McKenzie, Israel Dagg, Waisake Naholo, Julian Savea, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown, Malakai Fekitoa, George Moala, Ryan Crotty, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Cruden, Lima Sopoaga, Aaron Smith, TJ Perenara, Tawera Kerr-Barlow.Forwards: Kieran Read (captain), Liam Squire, Sam Cane, Matt Todd, Ardie Savea, Jerome Kaino, Elliot Dixon, Steven Luatua, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Patrick Tuipulotu, Owen Franks, Charlie Faumuina, Joe Moody, Wyatt Crockett, Ofa Tuungafasi, Luke Romano, Dane Coles, Codie Taylor, Liam Coltman.Injury cover: Scott BarrettApprentice: Jordie Barrett ' ' '
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