Summary

  • Vettel leapfrogs Hamilton to win during safety car

  • Mercedes say miscalculation caused confusion

  • Both Haas cars suffer identical pitstop wheel mistake after running well

  • Sirotkin, Ericsson, Gasly, Magnussen, Grosjean out

  • Get involved #bbcf1

Live Reporting

Gary Rose

  1. 'A punch in the stomach'

    Andrew Benson
    BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Melbourne

    .Getty Images

    Lewis Hamilton’s final lap in qualifying was a shock to the system in many ways - for the awesome speed with which he turned in to Turn One; for the gap he had over everyone else, when until then there had appeared very little between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. Daniel Ricciardo certainly did not take it well. "That sucks," said the Red Bull driver, who qualified fifth and starts eighth because of a grid penalty. “It’s frustrating because I think everyone else wants to see them get challenged a bit more, so that was a little bit of a punch in the stomach to everyone. That was like throwing a pie in everyone's face.”

    Ricciardo is one person who thinks that pace is largely in the car, rather than the driver. “I think he's very good - but I think obviously their car and their package is too good. It’s not to discredit Lewis, not at all, but I think even him at 90% with that package, he still would've got pole. I feel any of us top guys could've made that happen.”

  2. The grid 11-20

    11) Vandoorne

    12) Perez

    13) Stroll

    14) Ocon

    15) Bottas

    16) Hartley

    17) Ericsson

    18) Leclerc

    19) Sirotkin

    20) Gasly

  3. The grid 1-10

    It's lights out at 06:10 BST, let's take a look at how the grid shapes up:

    1) Hamilton

    2) Raikkonen

    3) Vettel

    4) Verstappen

    5) Magnussen

    6) Grosjean

    7) Hulkenberg

    8) Ricciardo

    9) Sainz

    10) Alonso

  4. A bad day for Bottas

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    But while Lewis Hamilton delivered a near perfect lap in qualifying, the same could not be said for his team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

    The Finn crashed out at the start of Q3, heavily damaging his car. That has resulted in a gearbox change and a five-place grid penalty so he lines up today in 15th.

  5. Party mode or no party mode?

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    The extra engine mode Andrew mentions is what has been described as "a party mode".

    Lewis Hamilton first mentioned it back in pre-season testing but was adamant yesterday that he did not use it, joking to Sebastian Vettel after qualifying that he just wanted to do a dominant lap "to wipe the smile off" the German's face.

    However, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff later said the "party mode" was turned on for Q3.

    “There is a party mode in the car, we switched the party mode on in Q3,” he said. “There was no difference from the first run in Q3 to the second run in Q3, he just said that he had a great lap, pulled it all together, carried more speed through the apexes."

  6. Andrew Benson
    BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Melbourne

    What happened on Saturday in Melbourne? Did Lewis Hamilton pull out a magic lap, as he does from time to time? Or is the Mercedes that much quicker than everything else on one flying lap in final qualifying, largely due to its extra engine mode? People have different views. But only the course of the season will answer that question fully.

    Right now, though, with the first race of a new Formula 1 season about to unfold, there is a more pressing one. Is the Mercedes that much quicker than the rest in the race, too?

    “Seven-tenths obviously is quite big,” said Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who starts third. “But we’ve seen many times now that usually on Sunday things get a little bit closer. We bet on that.”

    For the sake of Vettel - and a competition this year - they’re going to have be a lot closer than “a little bit”.

  7. .Getty Images

    Hello!

    Welcome along to our coverage of quite possibly one of the most exciting days of the year - the season-opening race of a new Formula 1 season.

    Lewis Hamilton blitzed the field to claim pole position for the Australian Grand Prix by more than 0.6s from the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.

    So should everyone else go home? There were some signs in Friday's race simulation runs that his rivals might not be that far behind when it comes to the Sunday, so switch on the kettle, get comfy and settle in for what should hopefully be a fascinating curtain raiser.

  8. Start as his means to go on?

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    Lewis Hamilton has produced many stunning laps for pole throughout his career but yesterday was quite possibly one of the best.

    It was the perfect to start to his title defence and sent out an ominous warning to those who are eyeing his crown.

    But points aren't won on the Saturday...