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Ahead of the Australian GP at the Albert Park circuit today, Lewis Hamilton claimed a sixth Pole Position ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas in a session that saw the top three battling each other throughout qualifying.
Just before Qualifying, it was announced by the Williams team that their rookie driver Lance Stroll will have to take a five place grid penalty for changing his gearbox after the crashes he sustained in FP2 and FP3.
During Q1, Kevin Magnussen’s difficult first weekend racing for Haas continued with the Dane running off track on his final Q1 flier and failing to improve his time. However, McLaren-Honda's driver and rookie Stoffel Vandoorne completed only one flying lap in qualifying after a fuel-flow problem forced him to return to the pits for most of the session.
But it was Lewis Hamilton who was claimed Pole Position for the Australian GP with a lap time of 1:22.188. Hamilton's Pole Position is the fastest ever recorded by an F1 car around Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit; showing just how much F1 in 2017 has become faster than many thought. Hamilton finished ahead of Sebastian Vettel in second place who was 0.268 seconds behind him and ahead of Valtteri Bottas in third place who was 0.293 seconds behind Hamilton.
Kimi Raikkonen qualified in fourth place ahead of Max Verstappen in fifth place, Romain Grosjean in a brilliant sixth place, Felipe Massa in seventh place, Carlos Sainz Jr in eighth place, Daniil Kvyat in ninth place and Daniel Ricciardo who rounded off the top ten finishers despite his crash.
Sergio Perez qualified in eleventh place ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in twelfth place, Fernando Alonso in thirteenth place, Esteban Ocon in fourteenth place and Marcus Ericsson in fifteenth place.
As we head into the latter stages of the grid, Antonio Giovinazzi ended the session in sixteenth place ahead of Kevin Magnussen in seventeenth place, Stoffel Vandoorne in eighteenth place, Jolyon Palmer in nineteenth place and Lance Stroll in twentieth place.
The classification of Qualifying for the Australian GP is as follows:-
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1.22.188
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 0.268s
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 0.293s
4. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 0.845s
5. Max Verstappen, Red-Bull-TAG Heuer, 1.297s
6. Romain Grosjean, Haas Ferrari, 1.886s
7. Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes, 2.255s
8. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 2.299s
9. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 2.324s
10. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-TAG Heuer, No Time Set
11. Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes, 1.25.081
12. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, 1.25.091
13. Fernando Alonso, McLaren-Honda, 1.25.242
14. Esteban Ocon, Force India-Mercedes, 1.25.568
15. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari, 1.26.465
16. Antonio Giovinazzi, Sauber-Ferrari, 1.26.419
17. Kevin Magnussen, Haas Ferrari, 1.26.847
18. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren-Honda, 1.26.858
19. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1.28.244
20. Lance Stroll, Williams-Mercedes, 1.27.143*
[*-Lance Stroll takes a five place grid penalty due to a gearbox change]
Driving for Pleasure will be covering the Australian GP weekend with our race reports alongside the latest news.
Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa
