Hamilton: I could have been faster

The Briton, who made a sensational debut in Melbourne a year ago, secured his seventh Formula One pole position in 18 starts by beating BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica by over a tenth of a second with a last-gasp effort.

The McLaren driver was delighted with his pole, but he reckons he could have gone much quicker.

"I can do better," said Hamilton. "For sure, being pole is a great feeling but there is always improvements you can make but the lap started off very well but finding the gap is very tricky.

"I had a huge gap and in the last corner I saw a Williams up ahead and I was two or three tenths behind it the whole lap."

He added: "It was a great qualifying session, a bit nerve wracking at the beginning. I didn't get a great lap and got held up by traffic, it wasn't easy finding the gap today. It was harder than I experienced in the past, but I found a gap at the end. Still felt I lost a bit of time through the lap."

Hamilton, third in last year's race, was also glad his team managed to start the year in such positive fashion after last year's troubles.

"We have just turned over a new leaf," he said. "Mercedes and McLaren have done a fantastic job, pushing right to the limit. Last night we had a couple of problems and were ready to do whatever was needed. Really, to start the season it could not be a better position for both of us."

The Briton admitted the start of the race, without electronic aids, will be a tricky moment.

"Obviously the start (is a concern). Everyone is starting with the new regs and it makes the starts trickier, and tomorrow you will see a wide range of good starts and bad starts. Last year the same but this year trickier. I am happy to be on the cleaner side for once."

Hamilton's teammate Heikki Kovalainen was third.