Lewis Hamilton took his fourth pole position of the 2016 season, but later admitted it wasn't a very good lap that secured him a front-row starting position for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton beat team-mate Nico Rosberg by just 0.062s in one of the closest qualifying sessions for some time, but believed he had more pace in hand.
"It wasn't actually a great lap," said Hamilton. "I'm not sure if I should admit that.
"It was enough, but not enough as I'd like. To be honest it doesn't matter how far you are ahead, as long as you're ahead.
"In practice there was a much bigger gap. Today, I just didn't have the pace that I had yesterday, but it was enough. I think there was definitely more time in it, but it was great to see how close we all were. I think that's great for fans to see."
Hamilton is expecting a close battle on Sunday as Ferrari look to have made some gains following recent disappointing qualifying results, with Sebastian Vettel finishing just under two-tenths adrift in third.
"Ferrari have obviously picked up the pace with the upgrades they've brought on their car," he added. "This is a great track to test their ultimate speed. We're excited to have the race with them. I think it should be exciting for the fans.
"Their long runs looked very strong. I don't know if they were stronger than ours, but we shall see tomorrow."
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