Lewis Hamilton set a new track record - and then beat it again - as he took pole position for the Australian Grand Prix. The reigning world champion clocked a one minute 21.014-second lap in Q2 and went more than half a second faster to claim his 84th career pole and sixth consecutive at Albert Park. He will start alongside team-mate Valtteri Bottas who went faster than Hamilton with his first flying lap in Q3 but was pipped by 0.112 seconds to complete a Mercedes lockout of the front row. Hamilton had been top of every practice session going into Saturday's qualification under blue skies in Melbourne and set a new track record with a tidy lap in the second qualifying session, surpassing it in the top 10 shootout. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel qualified third, 0.704 seconds behind the five-time world champion, and will be joined on the second row by Red Bull's Max Verstappen who was 0.130 seconds further behind.<doc-sep>Here are five things we learned from Saturday at the Australian Grand Prix. Daniel Ricciardo’s first qualifying session for Renault is in the books, although it wasn’t the result he or millions of Australians were after. Nonetheless, there is reason for Ricciardo fans to be excited for Sunday, as he prepares to do what he does best; overtake. Lewis Hamilton is a man who likely won’t have to do much of that after he once again blitzed the field - as did teammate Valtteri Bottas - with a record-making pole position. Here are five things we learned from Saturday at the Australian Grand Prix. RACE CENTRE: Qualifying results, times AUS GP STARTING GRID: Ricciardo ‘shocker’; champ smashes records Live stream the Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019 on KAYO SPORTS. Every practice, qualifying & race live & anytime in HD. Try 14-Days Free Now > RICCIARDO CAN SALVAGE A GOOD RESULT Few expected Ricciardo to light up the timesheets in his new Renault on Saturday. Qualifying 12th, however, was undoubtedly a few positions below the mark. The Australian put his hand up after qualifying, admitting he left some time out on the track. He missed Q3 by just 0.038 seconds, and was outqualified by his teammate Nico Hulkenberg by just 0.008. Had he made it through, eighth position would have been on the cards, with McLaren driver Lando Norris taking the spot in Q3 with a time just 0.266 seconds quicker than Ricciardo on a more evolved track. Nonetheless, the 29-year-old can see the positive to his disappointing Saturday, and explained why he’s in a good position for race day. “Normally, if I don’t do so well in qualifying, I seem to carry a chip on my shoulder for the race which helps me out, so I will use it as fuel for tomorrow,” he told Sky Sports. “I was more comfortable in the car today. I don’t think 12th is a representation of where we are, I feel we are better. “The changes we made today have me more confident for tomorrow ... I’m very optimistic for the race it’s just a matter of if we can pass and attack.” READ MORE: RICCIARDO FINALLY DRAWS BLOOD IN TEAMMATE BATTLE AS FERRARI GO TOE-TO-TOE WITH MERCEDES ‘I’M NOT SURE THEY’VE GOT ENOUGH’: F1 EXPERTS DOUBT RICCIARDO’S RENAULT REVOLUTION I HAVEN’T GOT FAT!’ RICCIARDO EXPLAINS FRUSTRATING AUS GP DELAY MERCEDES CAN NO LONGER HIDE THE TRUTH Mercedes have never warmed to being earmarked as the fastest team after pre-season testing. From the drivers to the team principal, the team has always preferred to point fingers elsewhere when asked before race one who has the fastest car. Last year we were led to believe Ferrari were the quickest, as we were this year, too. But either Mercedes are liars or Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel is far from his best, because the Silver Arrows appear to be title favourites once again. Even if Ferrari do have the faster package, five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton continuously finds a way to gain the upper hand, as he did comfortably on Saturday. Hamilton will lead the pack for the season opener after setting a record time of 1.20.486, 0.112 seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. Vettel finished qualifying a distant third (+0.704), and his teammate Charles Leclerc fifth (+0.956). Hamilton also equalled the record for the most pole positions at a single circuit, making it eight in Melbourne. Only legends Ayrton Senna (Imola) and Michael Schumacher (Suzuka) have claimed eight at one track. Indeed, it once again appears as if either Ferrari’s testing pace was over-estimated, Mercedes were sandbagging, or both. Hamilton, however, insists the gap to the Ferraris has come a surprise. “It’s a real shock,” he said. “But I know Ferrari will be pushing hard tomorrow and they will put up a good fight.” Mercedes have never warmed to being earmarked as the fastest team after pre-season testing. Source: AFP GASLY MUST LEARN QUICKLY Ricciardo’s Red Bull replacement got off to a nightmare start to his career with his new team after crashing out at the first stage of qualifying. Red Bull have struggled for pace all weekend but the theory was they were waiting for the perfect moment to use their ‘party mode’ with the new Honda engine. But if they were waiting to use that, then they waited too long as Gasly could only manage 17th in Q1, meaning that is where he will start on the grid. The 24-year-old qualified last on the grid in his first Melbourne experience last year and only lasted 13 laps on track and his torrid time at Albert Park continued on Saturday afternoon. Red Bull only failed to qualify from Q1 once in the whole of last season and that was because Max Verstappen crashed his car into the wall at Monaco. Verstappen himself could only manage P10 after the first qualifying session too as question marks were beginning to get asked of Red Bull. Joining Gasly in being eliminated in Q1 were Williams duo Robert Kubica and George Russell, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll. Ricciardo’s Red Bull replacement Pierre Gasly got off to a nightmare start to his career with his new team after crashing out at the first stage of qualifying. Source: Getty Images WILLIAMS HAVE FOUND ROCK BOTTOM Williams have slipped through the mid-table net and will start the 2019 season as F1’s slowest team. The English outfit have a brand new driver line-up, recruiting homegrown 21-year-old George Russell and miracle man Robert Kubica, who last raced in F1 in 2010 before a rally crash almost claimed his life. Both are great individual stories and their places on the grid at Albert Park should be celebrated. But those places will be 19th and 20th - second-to-last and dead last respectively. Williams were miles off the pace in all three practice sessions, too. Both drivers were more than four seconds off the pace in FP1 and then more than three seconds in FP2.<doc-sep>Daniel Ricciardo has had a less than ideal start to his life at Renault, qualifying for his home Grand Prix in 12th. Daniel Ricciardo’s start to life at Renault has been less than ideal, qualifying for his home Grand Prix in 12th on a day Lewis Hamilton once again stole the show. Ricciardo was narrowly outperformed on Saturday by teammate Nico Hulkenberg, who will start Sunday’s race at Albert Park in 11th after posting a time eight hundredths of a second quicker. “Both Renaults had a bit of a shocker there,” former F1 driver Martin Brundle said on Sky Sports. RACE CENTRE: Qualifying results, times FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED: Ricciardo has ‘chip on his shoulder’, champs can’t hide: Live stream the Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019 on KAYO SPORTS. Every practice, qualifying & race live & anytime in HD. Try 14-Days Free Now > The day once again belonged to five-time world champion Hamilton, who broke the track record on his way to pole position. He will lead the pack for the season opener after setting a record time of 1.20.486, 0.112 seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished qualifying a distant third (+0.704), while Max Verstappen was fourth (+0.834). Hamilton also equalled the record for the most pole positions at a single circuit, making it eight in Melbourne. Only legends Ayrton Senna (Imola) and Michael Schumacher (Suzuka) have claimed eight at one track. “I didn’t know about that. It is news to me,” Hamilton said when told about his record-equalling effort. The record wasn’t the only shock for Hamilton. He couldn’t believe Mercedes had made such great strides at Melbourne since Ferrari had dominated recent testing in Spain. “It’s a real shock. But I know Ferrari will be pushing hard tomorrow and they will put up a good fight,” he said. READ MORE: RICCIARDO FINALLY DRAWS BLOOD IN TEAMMATE BATTLE AS FERRARI GO TOE-TO-TOE WITH MERCEDES ‘I’M NOT SURE THEY’VE GOT ENOUGH’: F1 EXPERTS DOUBT RICCIARDO’S RENAULT REVOLUTION I HAVEN’T GOT FAT!’ RICCIARDO EXPLAINS FRUSTRATING AUS GP DELAY SANDBAGGING? FERRARI MYSTERY AS DELAYED DAN LEFT BEHIND BY TEAMMATE Earlier in Q1, Australian hearts were in mouths as Ricciardo languished in the dropzone when the clock ran out. The Australian flirted with an early exit, but pulled himself out of the bottom five after the buzzer by less than a tenth of a second. Red Bull new boy Pierre Gasly wasn’t so lucky and was shockingly dumped out in Q1 to make the worst possible start to his life as Ricciardo’s replacement. Gasly said he was happy with his lap but added: “Clearly the track evolution was big and it was quite a surprise (to be eliminated).” Also eliminated in Q1 was Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, and new Williams pair George Russell and Robert Kubica. Kubica was in his first F1 qualifying session since 2010, when his career, and life, were nearly ended by a serious rally crash. On Saturday, he kissed the wall twice - once in practice and once in qualifying - and ended up on the grass in Q1. The biggest shock of Q2 was reserved for McLaren youngster Lando Norris, who scraped into the final session on F1 debut. Elsewhere, Ferrari recruit Charles Leclerc qualified in fifth, while Haas pair Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen were quick enough for sixth and seventh respectively. Kimi Raikkonen was ninth in his new Alfa Romeo. AUSTRALIAN GP QUALIFYING TIMESHEET 1) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:20.486 2) Valtteri Bottas Mercedes +0.112 3) Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +0.704 4) Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.834 5) Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.956 6) Romain Grosjean Haas +1.340 7) Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.613 8) Lando Norris McLaren +1.818 9) Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo +1.828 10) Sergio Perez Racing Point +2.295 Out in Q2 11) Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:22.562 12) Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:22.570 13) Alex Albon Toro Rosso 1:22.636 14) Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1:22.714 15) Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:22.774 Out in Q1 16) Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:23.017 17) Pierre Gasly Red Bull 1:23.020 18) Carlos Sainz McLaren 1:23.084 19) George Russell Williams 1:24.360 20) Robert Kubica Williams 1:26.067 Relive all the action in the blog below. PROBLEM AROUND RICCIARDO’S GENTLEMAN AREA’ On Friday, Practice 2 didn’t start well for Ricciardo after a problem with his seat meant he missed a chunk of time at the start. “It was a bit frustrating,” he said. “We wanted to go out but it was frustrating for the mechanics as well. “I don’t know what went on because the belts… the measurements weren’t adding up. I haven’t got fat, I know that’s what you were about to ask me. I’ve been too busy to be eating! “It was a bit of a time delay, but I could tell everyone was getting a bit frustrated but it was good to finally get some laps in.” Renault development driver Jack Aitken later revealed more specific details about where the seatbelt was malfunctioning. “Yeah, something around the gentleman area,” he told Sky Sports. “They might have had to make some adjustments.”<doc-sep>Nico Hulkenberg has outperformed Daniel Ricciardo for most of the weekend so far. Daniel Ricciardo has joked Nico Hulkenberg will have a “target” on his back at the German Grand Prix after his Renault teammate out-qualified him at his home race in Melbourne. The Aussie qualified in P12 for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park with Hulkenberg one place ahead in P11 as both men missed out of Q3 on another below-par day for Renault. "It’s funny, half a tenth would have made it much more pleasurable being in Q3,” said Ricciardo. "That was really the target because I thought we could achieve it. Live stream the Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019 on KAYO SPORTS. Every practice, qualifying & race live & anytime in HD. Try 14-Days Free Now > "Yeah, half a tenth, you can always find that in a driver so I blame myself for the Q3 before I blame the car." Of the five sessions the two teammates have had together this weekend so far (three practices and two qualifying sessions) Ricciardo has only got the better of the German once, and said he will pay him back by beating him at Hockenheim. "I’m excited for the battles we’re going to have, I don’t think this will be the only close one,” The 29-year-old added. "I wasn’t under any illusion that he wouldn’t be fast because he is. "He can have today, obviously I wouldn’t like to let him have me at home but I’ll make sure I get him at Hockenheim, amongst others, but at Hockenheim I’ll make sure I put a target on him.” Ricciardo’s replacement at Red Bull, Pierre Gasly, had a disastrous start to life with his new time as they underestimated his qualifying time, meaning he dropped out in Q1, starting Sunday’s grand prix in 17th. READ MORE: RICCIARDO ‘SHOCKER’; CHAMP SMASHES RECORDS: AUS GP STARTING GRID‘ FRUSTRATED WITH MYSELF’: RICCIARDO’S ‘CHIP ON SHOULDER’ AFTER POOR QUALIFYING SESSION ‘I’M NOT SURE THEY’VE GOT ENOUGH’: F1 EXPERTS DOUBT RICCIARDO’S RENAULT REVOLUTION Pierre Gasly only managed P17 after replacing Daniel Ricciardo Source: Getty Images And even though Ricciardo qualified five places higher, the pace of Max Verstappen in the other Red Bull, who will start in P4, makes him think Renault’s fight will be with Haas again this season, rather than the team ahead of them. “We beat one of them today!” he said about the Red Bulls. “But no, at the moment they’re too far in front but also they’re pretty handy at Melbourne as well. “I think realistically that’s not the target. Realistically Haas is that midfield car to beat. I think they have a little more pace for now."<doc-sep>
Daniel Ricciardo was unable to get off to the start he hoped for with Renault. Daniel Ricciardo has been eliminated from qualifying during Q2, as Renault suffered a nightmare second session at the Australian Grand Prix. Both Ricciardo and his teammate Nico Hulkenberg missed out on the top 10 by finishing in 12th and 11th respectively, with Ricciardo’s final flying lap not good enough to give the home fans something to cheer at Albert Park. The Australian posted a 1:22.570, while Hulkenberg was slightly better with a 1:22.562. Live stream the Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019 on KAYO SPORTS. Every practice, qualifying & race live & anytime in HD. Try 14-Days Free Now > “I knew it was going to be close, I think we had the pace for Q3,” Ricciardo said. “I’m not sure how deep we would have went but we only had half a tenth to get there and that was in the car. “That alone made me more frustrated with myself. I don’t think the car was much better than another tenth but it would have been nice to get into Q3. “Normally if I don’t do so well in qualifying I seem to carry a chip on my shoulder for the race which helps me out, so I will use it as fuel for tomorrow. “I was more comfortable in the car today. I don’t think 12th is a representation of where we are, I feel we are better. The changes we made today have me more confident for tomorrow... I’m very optimistic for the race it’s just a matter of if we can pass and attack.” Daniel Ricciardo was ‘frustrated with himself’ after qualifying. Source: News Corp Australia The midfield battle, which it was believed Renault were at the top of after pre-season testing, proved even closer than anticipated during the qualifying, with just 0.3secs separating Ricciardo in P12 and Kevin Magnussen in P7. Haas duo Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean will both start ahead of Ricciardo on the grid on Sunday, as will Kimi Raikkonen in his Alfa Romeo, Sergio Perez in his Racing Point and rookie Lando Norris in his McLaren. Renault’s pace did not look too promising from the offset as Ricciardo only just managed to scrape through Q1 by the skin of his teeth, with only Grosjean acting as a buffer between himself and the first five eliminated drivers. ﻿READ MORE: ‘I’M NOT SURE THEY’VE GOT ENOUGH’: F1 EXPERTS DOUBT RICCIARDO’S RENAULT REVOLUTION I HAVEN’T GOT FAT!’ RICCIARDO EXPLAINS FRUSTRATING AUS GP DELAY HAMILTON SETS LAP RECORD TO MAKE HISTORY WITH POLE IN MELBOURNE Ricciardo will start in P12 for Sunday’s race. Source: FOX SPORTS Hulkenberg’s impressive Q1 pace gave Renault some hope that Ricciardo could match that but both drivers were ultimately dismissed before Q3 could get going. One slight bit of solace for Ricciardo will be the knowledge that his Red Bull replacement Pierre Gasly was unable to even get out of Q1 and will start five places back from him on the grid. At the top end of the time sheets, Lewis Hamilton qualified on pole as Mercedes locked out the front of the grid, ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.