Mercedes' Hamilton takes pole at F1 Australian GP
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E-mail Xinhua, March 14, 2015
Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton easily secured pole for Sunday's Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, as he and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg left all in their wake.
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| Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain gestures during the drivers' parade before the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia, March 15, 2015. [Bai Xue/Xinhua] |
A faultless performance from Hamilton on Saturday left none in doubt he will be the driver to catch this year as the Briton recorded a scorching one minute, 26.327 seconds lap in the final qualifying session that was a comfortable 0.6 seconds ahead of second-placed Rosberg.
Daylight followed the lightning Silver Arrows with Brazil's Felipe Massa of Williams grabbing third on the grid, despite being almost 1.4 seconds shy of pole position. Ferrari's new man, Sebastian Vettel, will join Massa on the second row after his 1:27.757 was good enough for fourth.
Vettel's teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, and Williams' Valtteri Bottas were close behind while F1's youngest ever driver, Max Verstappen, took 12th place.
McLaren endured their worse result in its 52-year history with its new Honda engines continuing to leave it languishing at the back of the grid.
After the track temperature dropped and wind changed at the Albert Park course ahead of the late afternoon qualifying, Hamilton adapted best.
"I feel incredibly blessed to have this car. It's so much fun in qualifying," Hamilton told.
The two-time world champion, who won 11 of 19 races last year, said he hoped not to repeat last year's results, when he was forced to retire after also qualifying in pole position.
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