Hamilton grabs pole at Australian GP

Melbourne - Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was in second spot and Valterri Bottas in third

Lewis Hamilton took the pole position in the Australian Formula One season opener at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne. He edged his rivals by a narrow margin of 0.368 seconds, the three time World Champion was followed by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in second spot and team-mate Valterri Bottas in third. The Briton stamped his authority in the first qualifying session of the season, by setting a record breaking lap of 1 minute and 22.188 seconds.
Post the practice sessions, there was a general undercurrent that suggested the Silver Arrows outfit would start from where it left off last year. However, the Ferrari's spoiled their chances of a front-row lockout and split the two cars.
Kimi Raikkonen qualified fourth, putting both the Ferraris one behind the other on the inside line of the grid. The Finn was followed by Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen who finished fifth, 0.452 seconds adrift the Ferrari ahead. Max's team-mate Daniel Ricciardo spun and went into the gravel at Turn 14, after he lost his rear on the tricky Turn 12, placing the local driver at tenth spot on the grid. The Australian brought out the first red flags of the day in third stint of the qualifying session, which was also a reason why the Ferraris did not get enough time to edge out the Silver Arrows completely.
Finishing in sixth spot, was the Ferrari powered Haas team's Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman was followed by Williams driver Felipe Massa in seventh spot and Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz in eighth spot. The Spaniard was followed by his team-mate Daniil Kyvat in ninth spot, and will have Red Bull senior team driver Ricciardo behind him on the start grid on Sunday.
The drivers eliminated out of the Q1 session of the qualifying were Renault's Jolyon Palmer, William's ace protege Lance Stroll, McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne, Hass' Kevin Magnussen, and Sauber's fill in and Ferrari reserve Antonio Giovanazzi. Ferrari's Italian rookie had to fill in the shoes of Sauber's Pascal Wehrlein who was unable to drive due to a neck injury from a crash in the off-season. Despite, getting a call the night before qualifying, the lone Italian managed qualifying  only two tenths adrift of his experienced Swedish team-mate Marcus Ericsson in his very first F1 outing.
By the second stint of the qualifying session the weather was a cloudy overcast which lead to dropping temperatures and winds that added to a complex scenario in terms of grip levels for several drivers. The drivers eliminated in Q2 were the two Force India's of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez, who start 14th and 11th on the grid respectively. Behind the Mexican in 12th is former team-mate and Renault driver, Nico Hulkenberg who starts 12th and if followed by McLaren's Fernando Alonso in 13th.
The final session of qualifying was interrupted by the red flags brought out by Ricciardo's spin, and many believe, had the session been un-interrupted, the Ferraris would have edged out the two Mercedes, and the Red Bullls would have been much closer in the top six mix at the front. However, looking forward to tomorrow's race day, one can expect a first corner or first lap mayhem both at the front and the mid-field. At the Albert Park circuit, grip levels are varied and can play key in terms of performance, and there can also be a lot of drag. With every circuit around the globe being re-surfaced for the new cars, the one in Melbourne has seen many drivers go off into the gravel at its tricky Turn 12, a corner to watch out for in the race.
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