Vettel not getting carried away

The reigning champion was fastest in all three qualifying segments and took pole by 0.8s seconds.

"We will see how we get on but we have done the first step, starting the season this way is a good step," said Vettel.

"We have worked hard to get the RB7 where it is now, mostly down to the people at the factory and 'down under' making it ready.

"It was a pleasure today, I was quite fast and happy with the result. But we have zero points like everybody else so we have to see how we get on."

Having retired while leading in Melbourne last year, Vettel said he would not get too excited until he reached the finish - though he is certain Red Bull is not as fragile as it was 12 months ago.

"I think the key is always to finish the race and see the chequered flag," he said. "Last year halfway through we had to retire but I am quite confident, we had a very, very good preparation in the winter, had hardly any reliability issues.

"It will be a hard race tomorrow, racing into the unknown. We can kind of guess how the tyres can behave, but we will see how it is.

"It will be quite entertaining, a lot of things we need to keep an eye on and be focused on.

"Today was the base and couldn't have been any better."