Formula 1
Hamilton in imperious form as he Strikes the First Blow in world title battle
Lewis Hamilton won the first battle of the season as he took a convincing pole position for the Australian Grand Prix.
Edited: Mar 14, 2015, 1:28 PM
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Lewis Hamilton won the first battle of the season as he took a convincing pole position for the Australian Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion beat team-mate Nico Rosberg, his only serious rival for top spot, by almost six tenths of a second to record the 39th pole of his career and a record fourth in Australia. The margin over the next non-Mercedes was 1.4 seconds, indicating that Mercedes has increased its superiority over the opposition.
It is only qualifying for the first race and there are no points on offer for that, but it looks ominous for the season ahead.
"It's been a great start to the weekend," said Hamilton. "It doesn't feel like a long time since the last race, it's like it's been a big rush to get here and have this performance.
"Today we found a good balance and it was about pushing those laps. It's so much fun when you have those single laps in qualifying and you have to push."
Rosberg's first lap in Q3 was aborted when he ran wide at turn 15 and he made certain of a front-row start, an improvement of one position on 2014 Melbourne qualifying, on his second run.
Afterwards, he was quick to admit that Hamilton had simply done a better job. "Lewis did an awesome job, he nailed it all the time and he's in great form," he said. "The speed was there for me, I just didn't get it together. It wasn't a great day today. But the car is unbelievable and it's a pleasure to drive.
Behind the dominant Mercedes drivers, Felipe Massa helped Williams to maintain their 'best of the rest' status, the Brazilian's final lap putting him just under six hundredths of a second ahead of a resurgent Sebastian Vettel, who edged his new Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen by three hundredths of a second after some very strong runs on both Pirelli tyre options in Q1 and Q2.
A lurid slide for Valtteri Bottas at the final corner on his second run in Q3 cost the Williams driver dear, relegating him to a spot on the outside of the third row just ahead of a relieved Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull Racing, whose difficult weekend so far at least produced a place in Q3. Bottas hurt his back in Q2 but drove on and aggravated the injury. He went to hospital for checks and will undertake a fitness test with FIA doctors on Sunday to decide whether to race.
Star rookie was Carlos Sainz, who hustled his Toro Rosso into eighth place. He was the only debutant to make the final run-off and he finished ahead of the Lotus duo of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado who were separated by almost a second in Q3.
Sainz's team mate Max Verstappen did a superb lap in Q1, but made a mistake in Q2 on his decisive lap, which dropped him to 12th.
Neither Sauber made it to Q3 but in all other respects qualifying was a triumph after the legal travails of the previous days. Felipe Nasr qualified 11th on his debut, missing out on Q3 by just over seven hundredths of a second and quicker by a similar margin than fellow rookie Verstappen who had a time-sapping, opposite-lock moment at turn five on his final run.
Daniil Kvyat started qualifying late after an exhaust fire in final practice meant some frantic wiring loom repair and he ended the day 13th fastest, heading the Force India duo of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez by just over two tenths of a second.
Hulkenberg edged Perez by a scant thousandth of a second, while Marcus Ericsson in the second Sauber failed to turn a lap in Q2.
As expected the McLaren Hondas struggled for pace and their first qualifying session will have been a trial. However, both cars t least ran reliably. Jenson Button missed out on Q2 by less than a tenth of a second after complaining of braking issues on his first run.
Kevin Magnussen, a podium finisher on his debut in Melbourne last year, was slowest of all 18 runners, six tenths off the pace of his team mate.
With Manor failing to turn a lap that means a McLaren back row lockout for Sunday's race.
Australian Grand Prix Qualifying
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:26.327s -
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:26.921s 0.594s
3 Felipe Massa Williams 1:27.718s 1.391s
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:27.757s 1.430s
5 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:27.790s 1.463s
6 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:28.087s 1.760s
7 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:2;8.329s 2.002s
8 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 1:28.510s 2.183s
9 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:28.560s 2.233s
10 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:29.480s 3.153s
11 Felipe NasrSauber 1:28.800s -
12 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:28.868s -
13 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1:29.070s -
14 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:29.208s -
15 Sergio Perez Force India 1:29.209s -
16 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:31.376s -
17 Jenson Button McLaren 1:31.422s -
18 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:32.037s -
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