F1 2018: Australian GP: Sizzling Hamilton grabs pole in season-opener

Melbourne, March 24: Mercedes world champion Lewis Hamilton produced a sizzling final lap to grab pole position for the season-opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix here on Saturday (March 24). The four-time world champion knocked out his rivals with a blistering time of one minute 21.164 seconds to claim his 73rd career pole.

Wow, it feels so good kicking off 2018 with Pole Position! Thank you to the Team for your continued hard work. Sights are on the race tomorrow... #AusGP #F1 #Pole @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/a5tnLsvp6f

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) March 24, 2018

The Ferrari duo Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel finished second and third with Red Bull's Max Verstappen in fourth. Hamilton delivered a special flying lap to put a stunning 0.664sec gap on Raikkonen and clinch the pole for Sunday's (March 25) opening race of the season. His blistering pace shows he will be the one to beat and helped offset a spectacular crash of his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas early in the final shootout.

Bottas' crash brought out the red flag to halt Q1 after he ran wide on turn two and slammed into the wall, dislodging a wheel in the collision. He was uninjured and was taken back to the pits in the course car. The shunt tore the rear wing from the car and destroyed the right-side suspension, leaving a massive overnight repair job for the Mercedes crew.

Another mighty qualifying effort seals @LewisHamilton's 73rd career pole #Quali #AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/t8Q0nt5s26

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2018

Vettel topped Q2 in 1:21.944 from Hamilton and Bottas. Verstappen and Australian Daniel Ricciardo both ran supersoft tyres in a potential alternative strategy move from Red Bull. McLaren's Fernando Alonso was a major casualty in Q2, finishing 11th fastest and missing out to Renault's Nico Hulkenberg.

Others to miss out in Q2 were Alonso's teammate Stoffel Vandoorne, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon. Hamilton topped Q3 with 1:22.824 ahead of Ferrari's Raikkonen and Vettel. Sauber's Marcus Ericsson was among those who failed to get out of Q1 along with Brendon Hartley, Charles Leclerc, Sergey Sirotkin and Pierre Gasly.

Just stunning, @LewisHamilton 👏#Quali #AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/9YhlVZ9BpL

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2018

Australian GP Qualifying Timings

1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:21.164
2. Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:21.828
3. Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:21.838
4. Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:21.879
5. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:22.152
6. Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:23.187
7. Romain Grosjean Haas 1:23.339
8. Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:23.532
9. Carlos Sainz Renault 1:23.577
10. Valtteri Bottas Mercedes DNF

ELIMINATED IN Q2
11. Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:23.692
12. Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:23.853
13. Sergio Perez Force India 1:24.005
14. L Stroll Williams 1:24.230
15. Esteban Ocon Force India 1:24.786

ELIMINATED IN Q1
16. Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:24.532
17. Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:24.556
18. Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:24.636
19. Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:24.922
20. Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:25.295

Note: D Ricciardo penalised three grid places for speeding under red flags in practice.

While @LewisHamilton stormed to pole in Melbourne, things didn't quite go to plan for his @MercedesAMGF1 teammate... 🙈 💥#AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/7V8jZapP6b

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2018