2018 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Qualifying Results - Lewis Hamilton storms to pole

Contributor
Dejan Kalinic
2018 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Qualifying Results - Lewis Hamilton storms to pole image

Lewis Hamilton claimed a record-breaking seventh pole at the Australian Grand Prix after a lap record in Melbourne on Saturday.

Lewis Hamilton breaks lap record

The Mercedes star appeared set for a battle to claim pole at Albert Park, but he produced an incredible lap late in Q3.

Hamilton's time of 1:21.164 seconds left his rivals behind, with Ferrari duo Kimi Raikkonen (+0.664s) and Sebastian Vettel (+0.674s) second and third respectively.

The British world champion now has seven poles in Australia, holding the record outright ahead of Ayrton Senna (six), and five straight.

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Daniel Ricciardo to start eighth

Qualifying proved to be dry after it rained for most of the first half of the day in Victoria.

It looked like Ferrari and Red Bull could challenge Hamilton, but the 33-year-old delivered a stunning lap, smashing the record mark of 1:22.188 he set last year.


 

Max Verstappen qualified fourth fastest, ahead of Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who will start eighth due to his three-place grid penalty for speeding under the red flag during second practice.

Qualifying results

Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Romain Grosjean (Haas), Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) and Carlos Sainz Jr. (Renault) made up the top nine, while Valtteri Bottas will start 10th after crashing in Q3.

Bottas crashed at turn two early in Q3, bringing out the red flag and ending his session early.

McLaren duo Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne both missed Q3, qualifying 11th and 12th fastest respectively.


 

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION

POSDRIVERTEAMTIMEGAP
1Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:21.164 
2Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1:21.8280.664
3Sebastian VettelFerrari1:21.8380.674
4Max VerstappenRed Bull1:21.8790.715
5Daniel RicciardoRed Bull1:22.1520.988
6Kevin MagnussenHaas1:23.1872.023
7Romain GrosjeanHaas1:23.3392.175
8Nico HulkenbergRenault1:23.5322.368
9Carlos SainzRenault1:23.5772.413
10Valtteri BottasMercedesNo time Q3-
11Fernando AlonsoMcLaren1:23.6922.528
12Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren1:23.8532.689
13Sergio PerezForce India1:24.0052.841
14Lance StrollWilliams1:24.2303.066
15Esteban OconForce India1:24.7863.622
16Brendon HartleyToro Rosso1:24.5323.368
17Marcus EricssonSauber1:24.5563.392
18Charles LeclercSauber1:24.6363.472
19Sergey SirotkinWilliams1:24.9223.758
20Pierre GaslyToro Rosso1:25.2954.131