Hamilton Pimpin Pole di Melbourne, Vettel Tersingkir dari 10 Besar
Hamilton Takes Aussie Pole...but Vettel Limps to 12th!
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Dhelia Gani
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Melbourne (B2B) - Lewis Hamilton meraih posisi pole bagi Mercedes pada turnamen pembuka musim kompetisi formula satu, Grand Prix Australia setelah memimpin sesi kualifikasi yang diwarnai turunnya hujan.
Hamilton menyimpan penampilan terbaiknya pada lap terakhir setelah pebalap Australia Daniel Ricciardo sempat memimpin catatan waktu beberapa detik sebelumnya pada balapan akhir pekan pertamanya bagi Red Bull.
Pebalap Inggris berusia 29 tahun Hamilton mencatat waktu satu menit 44,231 detik di trek basah Albert Park, hanya unggul 0,3 detik dari Ricciardo yang mencatat 1:44,548, seperti dilansir Yahoo! Sports.
Sementara itu juara dunia yang juga rekan satu timnya Sebastian Vettel, hanya menempati urutan ke-13 dalam catatan waktu.
"Hari ini kondisi sangat sulit, tapi saya cukup senang dengan apa yang telah tim lakukan. Mobil-mobil ini sangat sulit dikendalikan dalam kondisi basah," kata Hamilton.
Sedangkan pembalap Mercedes Nico Rosberg akan start di urutan ketiga bersama pebalap McLaren berusia 21 tahun asal Denmark Kevin Magnussen.
Fernando Alonso dari Ferrari, menempati urutan kelima bersama Jean-Eric Vergne yang mengisi urutan keenam tercepat bagi Toro Rosso.
Melbourne - Lewis Hamilton captured pole position for Mercedes for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in a thrilling finish to a rain-hit qualifying session on Saturday, while Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel failed to make the top 10.
Hamilton saved the best for last with his final lap of a gloomy session after Australian Daniel Ricciardo had stormed to the top of the timesheets only seconds earlier on his first race weekend for champions Red Bull.
The 29-year-old Briton´s time of one minute 44.231 seconds on a greasy Albert Park track was just over three-tenths of a second faster than Ricciardo, who upstaged team mate Vettel to the delight of the home fans.
Quadruple champion Vettel, winner of the last nine races of 2013, was only 13th fastest and was frustrated by a crash late in the final session by Ferrari´s Kimi Raikkonen which brought out the yellow flags and forced drivers to ease their pace.
"Today made it so much harder with the conditions, but I´m really happy with the job the team did," said Hamilton, whose 32nd second pole equaled Nigel Mansell´s British record. "These cars are much harder driving in the wet."
Mercedes´ Nico Rosberg will start third on the grid alongside McLaren´s 21-year-old Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen, who underlined his talent with a poised drive in trying conditions.
Ferrari´s Fernando Alonso qualified fifth with Jean-Eric Vergne sixth fastest for Toro Rosso.
