Sebastian Vettel dominated qualifying, setting the quickest lap in all three sessions, his fastest coming when it mattered in Q3.
A 1:23.529 put him P1 ahead of Lewis Hamilton by over eight tenths. Vettel opted not to use KERS on his lap whilst Hamilton suffered a KERS failure during Q3.
Mark Webber lost out to the Brit by just a tenth, dropping to third with the second McLaren of Jenson Button just behind.
Fernando Alonso finished off the top five, with his team-mate back in eigth place after a spin on his out-lap.
Michael Schumacher couldn’t match the pace of Nico Rosberg, the young German secured seventh, whilst the seven-time world champion dropped out in Q2.
Rubens Barrichello failed to set a lap-time in qualifying two after he span on his outlap at turn three, beaching his FW33 in the gravel trap.
Nick Heidfeld disappointed on his debut with the Renault team. The German failed to make it out of Q1, becoming the first established runner to join the ‘new’ teams in the drop-zone.
He was joined by Jarno Trulli, Heikki Kovalainen, Timo Glock, Jerome d’Ambrosio and the two HRT drivers of Vitantonio Liuzzi and Narain Karthikeyan, both of whom failed to qualify within 107% of Vettel’s fastest lap and therefore will not partake in the race unless they receive dispensation from the FIA and teams.
Australian GP Qualifying Results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q1 Time | Q2 Time | Q3 Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:25.296 | 1:24.090 | 1:23.529 |
| 03. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:25.900 | 1:24.494 | 1:24.395 |
| 02. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:25.384 | 1:24.658 | 1:24.307 |
| 04. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:25.886 | 1:24.957 | 1:24.779 |
| 18. | N. Heidfeld | Renault | 1:27.239 | ||
| 05. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:25.707 | 1:25.242 | 1:24.974 |
| 08. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:26.031 | 1:25.611 | 1:25.599 |
| 16. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:26.245 | 1:31.407 | |
| 15. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:26.298 | 1:26.768 | |
| 09. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:25.717 | 1:25.405 | 1:25.626 |
| 13. | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:25.812 | 1:26.108 | |
| 06. | V. Petrov | Renault | 1:25.543 | 1:25.882 | 1:25.247 |
| 17. | R. Barrichello | Williams | 1:26.270 | No Time | |
| 11. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:25.962 | 1:25.971 | |
| 07. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:25.856 | 1:25.606 | 1:25.421 |
| 10. | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1:26.232 | 1:25.882 | 1:27.066 |
| 12. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1:26.620 | 1:26.103 | |
| 14. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:27.222 | 1:26.739 | |
| 20. | J. Trulli | Team Lotus | 1:29.342 | ||
| 24. | N. Karthikeyan | Hispania | 1:34.293 | ||
| 19. | H. Kovalainen | Team Lotus | 1:29.254 | ||
| 22. | J. d’Ambrosio | Virgin | 1:30.822 | ||
| 21. | T. Glock | Virgin | 1:29.858 | ||
| 23. | V. Liuzzi | Hispania | 1:32.978 |
red = failed to qualify within 107% rule
