Hamilton bags sixth pole position in Oz

Lewis Hamilton after claiming pole position in Melbourne on Saturday. Pic/GETTY IMAGES

Melbourne: Lewis Hamilton pulled out a sensational lap in Saturday's qualifying session to seize pole position for today's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver lapped the 5.3 kilometre long Albert Park circuit in one minute 22.188 seconds, the fastest-ever time set at the Melbourne track and over a second-and-a-half quicker than the Briton's pole position effort from last year.

Sebastian Vettel took second for Ferrari with a lap that was 0.268 seconds slower than Hamilton's but enough to just edge the Briton's new teammate Valtteri Bottas, who will start today's race a disappointed third after a scrappy lap.

Formula One cars this year are sporting fatter tyres and revised aerodynamics as part of sweeping rule changes aimed at making them faster, more spectacular to watch and harder to drive.

Some may have expected Hamilton's benchmark to be much quicker but it was nevertheless enough for him to secure the 62nd pole of his career, just three short of boyhood idol Ayrton Senna, and a record sixth in 11 outings in Melbourne.

It also confirmed Mercedes, winners of 51 of the last 59 races, remain the team to beat, dashing hopes the regulation overhaul could prompt a change of guard at the front.

"It's been a fantastic weekend so far," said triple champion Hamilton, who also goes into the season as favourite to clinch a fourth championship title."