MELBOURNE, Australia — Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton set a blistering time in his final lap of qualifying to take pole position at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Saturday for a record seventh time, outpacing his nearest rival by a sizable 0.664 seconds. It was such a nice lap,” Hamilton said. Ricciardo will start the race in eighth position after a penalty for driving too fast under red-flag conditions during Friday’s practice. “It was a real surprise to see how quick the Ferraris were, the speeds they already had on the straights,” Hamilton said. Ricciardo believes Mercedes is still beatable, despite the speed Hamilton displayed in qualifying.

Source: National Post March 24, 2018 04:42 UTC