Hamilton fights off Vettel to grab Australian Grand Prix pole
New Mercedes driver Bottas third as Hamilton hails ‘fantastic weekend so far’ for his team
Triple world champion Lewis Hamilton fought off late bids from Sebastian Vettel and teammate Valtteri Bottas to seize pole position in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix yesterday.
Hamilton in a Mercedes clocked a record lap of one minute 22.188 seconds to claim his 62nd career pole and his sixth in Australia into today’s race in Melbourne.
Ferrari’s Vettel made a valiant late bid to snatch pole off Hamilton but finished just 0.268 secs down, although fractionally quicker than Bottas.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen took fourth ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, while Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo crashed out in the final Q3 session.
It was dominant Hamilton’s fourth successive pole in Melbourne and his fifth in his last six Australian GPs.
“It’s been a fantastic weekend so far. I’m incredibly proud of my team,” Hamilton said.
“Valtteri did a great job and it’s great for us as Mercedes. It’s going to be a tight race. Tomorrow is about putting all the work together and making sure I come back stronger than ever.”
Hamilton, who finished runner-up by just five points in last season’s titanic world championship battle with now-retired teammate Nico Rosberg, will be chasing his third win in Melbourne.
Vettel gave promise of fighting for Ferrari’s first win in Melbourne since Kimi Raikkonen’s victory in 2007, with his bold showing.
“I lost a bit in turn one and in turn nine I tried a bit too much, but I don’t think it would have been enough,” said Vettel, who claimed Ferrari’s first front row since Singapore in 2015.
“I wasn’t entirely happy with my lap but I don’t think pole was up for grabs.
“Tomorrow we can do something in the race. I’m looking forward to it. People are fired up and we’re motivated.”
Hamilton’s pole time was 1.7 seconds quicker than his qualifying time last year. “Third position is not ideal,” Bottas said.