Lewis Hamilton says he is delighted with the "sexy laps" he completed in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne.
The British driver progressed through to Q3 in the new qualifying format and took pole position with a 1:23.837 by over two tenths of a second, beating Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
He praised Mercedes for raising the bar over the winter break but said the team still has work to do overnight ahead of Sunday’s race.
"I have to take my hat off to the team," he said. "What they've done to raise the bar once more, for the third year in a row, really inspires and motivates me.
"I really enjoyed driving the car in qualifying today. We got the setup just right and they were some sexy laps. They felt so good – flowing nicely with no real mistakes.
"That's all you can hope for – to always improve – and that's what we've done, so I'm very happy. There's still a lot of work left to do tonight and especially tomorrow, though.
"There's a lot more studying for us drivers with the changes to the radio rules. We can't be told if the strategy is changing through the race, so we have to be able to anticipate what's happening if you end up in a different situation than expected. I'm excited. It's a new thing and I hope it adds to the spectacle."
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