Reigning Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton will be looking to convert his early-season dominance into a long overdue win at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Mercedes man has won three of the first five races this season to go 20 points clear atop the driver standings. However, the Brit has only won once at the iconic circuit, back in 2008, and he’ll face a tough challenge from team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Rosberg has won this illustrious race for the past two years, and after securing victory in the Spanish Grand Prix last time out, the German will fancy his chances of making it three in succession on the streets of Monte Carlo.

The tight nature of this track makes the pre-race runs, especially qualifying, crucial to a driver’s overall chances. Read on for updates from Monaco as Formula One’s brightest talents look to give themselves the best prospect of victory at the calendar’s most prestigious event.

Qualifying: Lewis Hamilton Takes Pole Position Ahead of Nico Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton recovered from a jittery final practice session to take pole position for Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, as Formula One revealed:

BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton will start on pole position at the 2015 #MonacoGP - Rosberg in second, Vettel third pic.twitter.com/PQTdj9RKpx

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 23, 2015

It’ll mark the first-ever time that the Englishman has started first in Monaco, and that’ll undoubtedly play into his hands.

The Circuit de Monaco is famously difficult to overtake on, and if Hamilton can kick on in the early stages, he could well post his fourth victory of the season.

Following the qualifying session, Hamilton reflected on an excellent day at the office in difficult circumstances—via BBC Sport:

It has been a long, long time. I can't express to you how happy I am. It was not the easiest session. There were a lot of things that throw you off your rhythm and I did not have that rhythm until the last couple of laps. I am very, very happy. This track is so hard. It is difficult to express how difficult it is. In our session we had some problem with tyres and traffic, it was not easy so it makes it even more special. We had some really bad laps, so it was great.

Hamilton started things off with a time of one minute, 20.611 seconds but, obviously, he was just getting warmed up.

His next lap saw him fly to the top of the charts with a 1:15:304, before chalking up an astonishing 1:15:098 at the close.

That’s almost a whole second faster than Rosberg’s pole-claiming time from 2014’s race, issuing a serious statement to the field. Here’s a look at the lineup in full:

However, beating Rosberg on Sunday won’t be easy for Hamilton, as the German has previous form on the Monaco track.

He’s been crowned champion the last two years on the spin, and he will undoubtedly stay on his team-mate’s tail throughout the race.

Still, so long as Hamilton doesn’t let the pressure get to him and slip up, he’ll reign supreme once again.

Vettel, flying the Ferrari flag, will start in third after a 1:15:849. Even that would have been good enough to take pole last year, but he’s still not out of the hunt two places back.

And he and Ferrari have promised as much, too—per Byron Young of the Daily Mirror:

Vettel: "We were a bit far away from Mercedes today, tomorrow we should be closer." #f1

— Byron Young (@byronf1) May 23, 2015

Vettel sat in second at the Spanish Grand Prix for the duration and wouldn’t allow Hamilton to pass and catch Rosberg, and that could happen once again yet not in the Ferrari man’s favour.

Either way, it’s all set up to be an engrossing race in Monaco. Rosberg knows he can produce the goods on the track, while Hamilton is in the driving seat and not planning on budging anytime soon.

FP3: Sebastian Vettel Fastest as Lewis Hamilton Struggles in Final Practice

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel chalked up the fastest time in the final practice session ahead of Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix, pipping Mercedes duo Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

His lap time of one minute, 16.143 seconds was enough to take top spot, with Rosberg 0.218 seconds back and Hamilton a further 0.344 seconds behind, as Formula One confirmed:

Vettel shows blistering pace to go fastest - by more than half a second - with a 1:16.143 #FP3 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/64iIGYMUpH

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 23, 2015

It was a clean run for Vettel, who displayed a great deal more aggression than we’ve seen in recent weeks.

The same can’t be said for Hamilton, though, despite the fact that he was looking dominant in the early exchanges.

He set the pace for much of the session, posting a 1:17:021 on supersoft tyres to put him clear of Vettel and Rosberg.

However, the Englishman then reported that his car wasn’t performing as it should have been, and he only managed to mildly improve on his earlier time as the session went on despite chopping and changing between tyres.

Normally, Hamilton would have left it late to produce something special, but it was Vettel that did as much this time around.

Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen had a day to forget, however, as he crashed out shortly after posting a sixth-fastest time of 1:17:471.

Daniel Ricciardo took fourth, while Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz produced a stunning run to set fifth. Here's a look at the full results from the final practice session:

It all sets up a mouth-watering session in Saturday afternoon’s qualifying, and although Vettel drove well, the Mercedes boys will be looking to come into their own as they scrap for pole.

Rosberg set a time of 1:15:989 last year in qualifying, and he’s expected to go even faster this time around.

Plus, Hamilton will be looking to threaten his team-mate's Monaco dominance with a strong qualifying run, he just needs to get his tyre pressure and selection correct.

As always, though, it’s going to be a monumental scrap between Ferrari and Mercedes, from practice, into qualifying and beyond.

FP2: Hamilton Fastest in Rain Affected Session

Heavy rain affected the second free practice session on Thursday in Monaco, but it was Lewis Hamilton who was on top once again after some blistering laps early on.

The Brit was comfortably ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg when the heavens opened in Monte Carlo, curtailing any hopes the German may have had of responding later on.

Prior to the rain, we had our first red flag of the week, as Roberto Merhi lost control coming out of the tunnel and careered into the barrier. As noted here by the official Formula One Twitter feed, the Manor driver walked away unscathed:

RED FLAG: @robertomerhi hits a bump and loses control approaching the chicane. He walks away #FP2 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/HK42VmQptz

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 21, 2015

That incident halted practice and, although the track soon opened, the overwhelming majority of drivers stayed in their garages. As we can see here courtesy of the Force India Twitter account, there were some ominous clouds about:

The threat of rain is likely to be a little more than just a threat. Just a hunch. #FeelTheForce #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/6HJxCxqW7D

— Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) May 21, 2015

Pastor Maldonado did his best to brave the wet track, but quickly retreated to shelter. The rain did halt in the latter stages of the session, but it was understandable that few drivers decided to risk going out on track in changeable conditions.

With the clock ticking down, a scattering did decide to get out there. It proved to be a positive exercise for Mercedes too, as they sent Hamilton out on intermediate tyres and Rosberg on full wets to accrue some crucial data from these late runs.

Here are the standings from P2, courtesy of the official Formula One website.

FP1: Hamilton Top; Verstappen Impresses

Lewis Hamilton laid down an early marker in Monaco, as he topped the timing sheets at the end of first practice.

The Mercedes man was comfortable throughout the session, with his closest challenge coming from 17-year-old Max Verstappen. The Toro Rosso youngster finished in second, while Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was in third place.

As noted by AUTOSPORT Live, the teenager’s showing on his first Monaco appearance was mightily impressive: "Worth reiterating that Verstappen—second-fastest this morning—is the only man in the field who's never raced in Monaco before.

Nico Rosberg’s week got off to a far from settled start, as he clipped the barriers very early on in the session. It was a faux pas that prompted the German to immediately pit, and he finished up in ninth.

As shown by the Formula One Twitter account, the Mercedes man was cutting things very fine around the notoriously compact circuit.

There was plenty of positivity from the paddock as we got our first look at the drivers. Ricciardo has struggled to build on a superb debut season with Red Bull, putting in some inconsistent showings so far in 2015.

But speaking with BBC Sport, the Red Bull driver revealed some insight into conditions and stated that he feels the team is capable of challenging in Monaco:

“It is still a bit damp in some areas but it dries pretty quickly and if the rain stays away we should see the times come down quickly,” he said. “I think if we put the weekend together here we should get our best result here.”

Jenson Button was also in upbeat mood ahead of this one, per the official Formula One website. But for a while, his claims seemed to be hollow words, as the opening 45 minutes of the session passed by without any sign of the McLaren man.

He did get out eventually, but quickly returned to the pits. Elsewhere, there were some positive signs for two-time Monaco winner Fernando Alonso. Button’s team-mate seemed to be enjoying his time out on track and looked in decent fettle to post the 11th best time of the session.

Lotus also enjoyed a prosperous stint, with Pastor Maldonado finishing up in sixth spot. But as was documented by Formula One's Twitter account, both the Venezuelan and team-mate Romain Grosjean endured a few hairy moments on their way around the circuit.

But there was no beating Hamilton in P1. The Mercedes star enjoyed an incident-free opening stint, was able to get plenty out of the car and still seemed to have plenty left in reserve as he coasted to the summit of the time sheets.

There will be more talk about Verstappen's potential in the wake of his effort. To perform so well around such a difficult circuit on your debut takes not only raw talent but impeccable temperament. It's going to be intriguing to see how the Dutchman fares during the remainder of this illustrious sporting occasion.

Here are the standings from P1, courtesy of the official Formula One website.