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F1: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes on pole in Australia
16 Mar 2019
Lewis Hamilton took the pole position at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Saturday.
His team member Valtteri Bottas grabbed second place ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton picked up intensity in the final runs to edge past Bottas by 0.012 seconds.
This helped him to take his sixth consecutive pole at Albert Park.
Here's more.
Hamilton way ahead of Vettel in qualification
Hamilton
Hamilton was a massive 0.704 seconds quicker than his arch-rival Vettel, who finished ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The Briton dominated all weekend after topping the two out of three qualifying sessions.
"I'm shaking it was so close out there. From testing we had no idea where we would be," said Hamilton to the BBC.
The car feels all right, says Vettel
Vettel
Vettel looked confident with his car despite being behind Hamilton and Bottas.
Ferrari had looked quicker than Mercedes in pre-season testing and a tough battle was expected.
"The car feels all right. There is not anything wrong. Certainly surprised (by the gap). I think everybody is, probably themselves. Yesterday we did not have a good day, today felt better but the gap was similar."
Hamilton goes in as the favorite
Australian GP
All eyes will be on Hamilton and Vettel on Sunday.
In 2018 Australian GP, Germany's Vettel had won the title in Melbourne.
He then backed it up with victory at the next race in Bahrain.
Hamilton fought his way back to sweep 11 of the remaining 19 races and was crowned as the F1 2018 champion.
A strong start would benefit both parties.
When and where to watch the Australian GP?
Fact
The race day of the Australian Grand Prix is on Sunday, March 17. The race will start at 10:30 AM IST. One can watch the race live on Star Sports Select/HD 2. Fans can also stream it on Hotstar (paid subscription).
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