Hamilton sweeps to record-breaking Australian GP pole

Lewis Hamilton will kick off his Formula 1 title defence from pole position after a dominant final lap during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday saw him beat Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel.

Following a close-fought battle against Ferrari and Red Bull through Q1 and Q2, Mercedes driver Hamilton was able to hook up a stunning final lap in the dying moments of qualifying, setting a time of 1:21.164 - a new track record at Albert Park. The result also saw Hamilton take the outright record for pole positions in Australia with his seventh success, moving clear of Ayrton Senna.

Kimi Raikkonen finished as the top Ferrari in P2, albeit a distant six-tenths of a second behind Hamilton at the front, with teammate Sebastian Vettel slotting in to third place after finishing 0.01 seconds off the Finn's time.

Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo took fourth and fifth place for Red Bull after struggling to keep up with Mercedes and Ferrari, but both drivers will start on the Supersoft tyre tomorrow after the team opted to switch up its strategy.

Haas made good on its impressive pre-season form as Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean eased through to Q3 before quaifying sixth and seventh respectively. Both drivers will gain a place on the grid for the start following Ricciardo's three-place penalty. Renault fell just short of Haas in the battle to lead the midfield as Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr. finished eighth and ninth respectively.

Valtteri Bottas will start the race from P10 at best tomorrow after crashing hard on his first flying lap in Q3. After clipping the grass at Turn 2, Bottas' car was sent spinning rear-first into the wall at high-speed, sparking a red flag. While Bottas was able to walk away unharmed, his car was left with significant damage that could result in further penalties should any gearbox or power unit component changes be required.

McLaren's hopes of starting its new partnership with Renault a top-10 grid start were dashed as both Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne were squeezed out in Q2, qualifying 11th and 12th respectively. An error at Turn 3 cost Alonso time, causing him to miss out on the final shootout by 0.148 seconds, while Vandoorne was a further tenth behind in the second McLaren MCL33.

Sergio Perez led Force India's charge in 13th, but was left frustrated by traffic that limited his chances of making it through to Q3. Teammate Esteban Ocon slipped to 15th, finishing 2.8 seconds back from the fastest time in the session. Williams' Lance Stroll split the pair after an impressive showing in Q1 secured his place in the second stage of qualifying.

Toro Rosso lagged to a double-Q1 elimination in its first qualifying with Honda power as Brendon Hartley missed out on a Q2 berth by just 0.029 seconds after a scruffy final lap. Teammate Pierre Gasly locked up at Turn 3 on his final hot lap, leaving him seven-tenths further back in P20.

Sauber drivers Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc looked a step closer to the midfield than in practice as they took 17th and 18th respectively, both finishing within two-tenths of Ocon in 15th. Williams' Sergey Sirotkin struggled in his first F1 qualifying session, lapping half a second slower than teammate Stroll in the sister FW41 car to finish P19.

The Australian Grand Prix kicks off at 4 p.m. local time in Melbourne on Sunday (6 a.m. UK).