Story highlights Lewis Hamilton on pole for Australian GPSebastian Vettel splits Mercedes pairDaniel Ricciardo spins out(CNN) Lewis Hamilton edged out a "fired up" Sebastian Vettel for a resurgent Ferrari to claim pole for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne Saturday. Hamilton's new Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was third fastest, but there was disappointment for home hope Daniel Ricciardo, who spun off in his Red Bull in the final qualifying session. Hamilton, beaten to a fourth F1 world title by the now retired Nico Rosberg last season, is wary of the threat posed by Ferrari, with Vettel's teammate Kimi Raikkonen fourth quickest at Albert Park. I'm looking forward to the race, but i think it will be tight," he told the post-qualifying press conference. New regulations introduced for the 2017 season have led to faster speeds, with Hamilton setting a new lap record of one minute 22.188 seconds to take his 62nd career pole and fourth straight in Australia.

Source: CNN March 25, 2017 08:29 UTC