2015 Australian Grand Prix Saturday - Qualifying
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Here's BEN ANDERSON's full report from that qualifying session, plus the provisional starting grid:
Hamilton dominates Melbourne qualifying
We'll be back just before 5am UK time on Sunday morning to bring you full as-it-happens coverage of the Australian Grand Prix. See you then.
Hamilton dominates Melbourne qualifying
We'll be back just before 5am UK time on Sunday morning to bring you full as-it-happens coverage of the Australian Grand Prix. See you then.
Lewis Hamilton takes 2015 Australian GP pole
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Massa: "It was a very tricky qualifying, four cars fighting for similar time all the time. The difference between me, Seb, Kimi and Valtteri is pretty small.
"But I'm happy that I did a good lap. It was my best lap of the day, the last one, which is never easy to do. Maybe I just prepared everything for the last try and it worked.
"It will be a big fight with Ferrari in the race, but hopefully we can do a good job."
"But I'm happy that I did a good lap. It was my best lap of the day, the last one, which is never easy to do. Maybe I just prepared everything for the last try and it worked.
"It will be a big fight with Ferrari in the race, but hopefully we can do a good job."
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Rosberg: "Lewis did an awesome job, he nailed it all the time and he's on great form.
"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.
"It's great to see where we are, leading the pack. We still have a lot of chances for tomorrow."
"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.
"It's great to see where we are, leading the pack. We still have a lot of chances for tomorrow."
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Hamilton: "It's been a great start to the weekend. 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."
"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."
Twitter
@ToroRossoSpy: "And that's our first qualifying session done! @carlosainz ends up P8, well done! What a top job!"
Rosberg shrugs in parc ferme as he waits to pose with Hamilton and Massa for the top three photo.
Bottas gets a "really good effort" from Williams on the radio, but he's the wrong side of the Ferraris compared to his team-mate.
Williams congratulates Massa on a "great lap", and he says it was difficult out there, but he's got to be chuffed with third.
Grosjean ended up beating Maldonado by nine tenths of a second there, and Massa was three tenths faster than Williams team-mate Bottas.
Gap from Hamilton to Rosberg: 0.594s. From Hamilton to Massa in third: 1.391s. Massa/Vettel/Raikkonen covered by 0.072s in third to fifth.
"Nice work Lewis, that's P1...six tenths Nico P2". Music to the world champion's ears.
Rest of grid:
11 Nasr
12 Verstappen
13 Kvyat
14 Hulkenberg
15 Perez
16 Ericsson
17 Button
18 Magnussen
11 Nasr
12 Verstappen
13 Kvyat
14 Hulkenberg
15 Perez
16 Ericsson
17 Button
18 Magnussen
Bottas tried to hang on to a loose rear end through the final corner, and he couldn't get outside wheels back inside the white lines by the time the artificial grass became real grass, bouncing the Williams back onto the road.
Final Q3 result:
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Massa
4 Vettel
5 Raikkonen
6 Bottas
7 Ricciardo
8 Sainz
9 Grosjean
10 Maldonado
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Massa
4 Vettel
5 Raikkonen
6 Bottas
7 Ricciardo
8 Sainz
9 Grosjean
10 Maldonado
Sainz grabs eighth ahead of the Lotus pair.
Massa and Vettel go third and fourth with their last laps.
Stopwatch
Pole for Hamilton guaranteed: he improves to a 1m26.327s to beat Rosberg by nearly six tenths of a second.
Rosberg goes second, half a second off a lap Hamilton is about to improve on...
Bottas went wide out of the final corner, which kicked up plenty of dirt.
Grosjean gets ahead of Maldonado in seventh.
Bottas goes fourth between Raikkonen and Ricciardo. Hamilton is improving again.
Raikkonen immediately knocks Ricciardo back to fourth.
Everyone is on effectively-new tyres. Vettel's are 'used', but it appears to be the set that he didn't bother setting a time on at the end of Q2.
Ricciardo goes from sixth to third, to the delight of Melbourne.
Hamilton reckons he's got some vibration from the front tyres.
Everyone now on track for their last-gasp efforts. Hamilton isn't taking that huge provisional pole margin for granted.
Some very big team-mate gaps even among those who completed laps - Vettel 1.1s faster than Raikkonen, Maldonado 0.8s faster than Grosjean.
Toro Rosso tells Sainz that track temperature is falling.
Red Bull warns Ricciardo about the tailwind into Turn 15 that is causing so many problems.
Raikkonen and Sainz were on the 'oldest' tyres for that first run, with seven laps on them. Let's see what they can do on their second runs.
Order after first runs:
1 Hamilton
2 Vettel
3 Massa
4 Raikkonen
5 Maldonado
6 Ricciardo
7 Grosjean
8 Sainz
No time: Rosberg, Bottas
1 Hamilton
2 Vettel
3 Massa
4 Raikkonen
5 Maldonado
6 Ricciardo
7 Grosjean
8 Sainz
No time: Rosberg, Bottas
Massa's also missed the apex at Turn 15, but he kept it on the road and finished the lap. His moment was different to Rosberg's, as he locked the rears on the way in and it was that twitch that sent him wide.
So eight cars have done times, both Rosberg and Bottas are back into the pits without putting a proper lap on the board.
Massa goes third, 0.6s off Vettel and 0.5s ahead of Raikkonen.
It was a lock-up for Rosberg, who was forced to take to the grass.
Sainz's first lap is seventh and slowest so far.
Rosberg goes off at the penultimate corner and heads for the pits.
Vettel takes second, 1.1s faster than Raikkonen but 1.3s slower than Hamilton.
Stopwatch
Raikkonen is briefly fastest by 0.6s, then Hamilton puts in a massive 1m26.419s - 2.4s faster than the Ferrari!
Ricciardo is two tenths slower than Maldonado and goes second, with Grosjean third.
By: Glenn Freeman, Jack Benyon, AUTOSPORT staff, Ben Anderson, Edd Straw, Lawrence Barretto
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