Red Bull-Renault's Sebastian Vettel has claimed pole position for the Australian Grand Prix. The German beat off his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber to take his seventh career F1 pole. Vettel clocked a fastest lap in the third and final qualifying stage of one minute 23.919 seconds, just 0.116sec ahead of Australian Webber. Ferrari's two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain was third fastest and will start on the inside of the second row of the race grid with reigning world champion Jenson Button.
Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa was fifth quickest just ahead of German Mercedes GP driver Nico Rosberg. Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher in a Mercedes GP will start on the fourth row of the grid alongside Brazilian Rubens Barrichello. The shock failure in the qualifying session was former world champion Lewis Hamilton, who missed out on the final stage of qualifying. The British McLaren Mercedes driver was 11th fastest in the second qualifying stage in 1:25.184 and missed out on the top 10 cars into the third and final stage by 0.062secs. * AFP
1. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault) 1:23.919 2. Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull-Renault) 1:24.035 3. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari) 1:24.111 4. Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:24.675 5. Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari) 1:24.837 6. Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes) 1:24.884 7. Michael Schumacher (GER/Mercedes) 1:24.927 8. Rubens Barrichello (BRA/Williams-Cosworth) 1:25.217 9. Robert Kubica (POL/Renault) 1:25.372 10. Adrian Sutil (GER/Force India-Mercedes) 1:26.036 Eliminated in Q2: 11. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 12. Sebastien Buemi (SUI/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 13. Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA/Force India-Mercedes) 14. Pedro de la Rosa (ESP/Sauber-Ferrari) 15. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Williams-Cosworth) Eliminated in Q1: 16. Kamui Kobayashi (JPN/Sauber-Ferrari) 17. Jaime Alguersuari (ESP/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 18. Vitaly Petrov (RUS/Renault) 19. Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/Lotus-Cosworth) 20. Jarno Trulli (ITA/Lotus-Cosworth) 21. Timo Glock (GER/Virgin-Cosworth) 22. Lucas Di Grassi (BRA/Virgin-Cosworth) 23. Bruno Senna (BRA/Hispania-Cosworth) 24. Karun Chandhok
Formula One Australian Grand Prix, 5.5-kilometre (3.3-mile) Albert Park circuit, with drivers, nationality and team: 1. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Red Bull. 2. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull. 3. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Ferrari. 4. Jenson Button, Britain, McLaren. 5. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari. 6. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes. 7. Michael Schumacher, Germany, Mercedes. 8. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Williams. 9. Robert Kubica, Poland, Renault. 10. Adrian Sutil, Germany, Force India. 11. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren. 12. Sebastien Buemi, Switzerland, Toro Rosso. 13. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Italy, Force India. 14. Pedro de la Rosa, Spain, Sauber. 15. Nico Hulkenberg, Germany, Williams. 16. Kamui Kobayashi, Japan, Sauber. 17. Jaime Alguersuari, Spain, Toro Rosso. 18. Vitaly Petrov, Russia, Renault. 19. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, Lotus. 20. Jarno Trulli, Italy, Lotus. 21. Timo Glock, Germany, Virgin. 22. Lucas di Grassi, Brazil, Virgin. 23. Bruno Senna, Brazil, Hispania. 24. Karun Chandhok, India, Hispania.