Lewis Hamilton praised his pole position at the Australian Grand Prix for Mercedes, describing the lap as the closest thing to "perfection".
In the final session of qualifying, Hamilton set a stunning lap of 1:21.164 around the Albert Park circuit, claiming pole by 0.664 seconds from Kimi Raikkonen who was his nearest challenger in second.
"You would think that with the results we’ve had these years, it would be the norm, but it doesn’t, it’s still just as intense," said Hamilton post-qualifying. "My heart is racing, I wish you could feel it right now.
"I’m so happy with that lap, it was such a nice lap. You know I’m always striving for perfection and that was as close as I could get."
When asked about the additional boost for qualifying Mercedes has enjoyed in the hybrid era, dubbed 'party mode', Hamilton was coy.
"Party mode? I’m always in party mode," he jested. "What was surprising was to see how quick the Ferraris were. I mean I don’t really know, during that lap I was in the same mode as before. It was just really hooking up the tyres, getting them to the right temperature and putting the lap together.
"I’d had good sectors before, but I’d never – maybe the first lap of qualifying – but after that I hadn’t put them together," he added.
Hamilton's pole position was his fifth in a row in Australia, and seventh overall at the Albert Park circuit.
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