Sebastian Vettel will start the Australian Grand Prix in pole position after a challenging qualifying session which lasted a total of 18 hours due to heavy downpours leading to its postponement.
The German starts ahead of his team-mate, Mark Webber, with the pair dominating the final few laps, run in the dry, to stay clear of the remaining 20 cars behind.
Mercedes proved their testing pace wasn’t just showboating as Lewis Hamilton popped up in third, just over six tenths slower than Vettel. Meanwhile his team-mate Nico Rosberg, who had led Q1 and Q2, managed sixth, to sandwich the Ferraris in fourth and fifth.
It was a difficult session for McLaren who made an early switch to slick tyres in Q2, which would prove the wrong decision. However Jenson Button realised the error, unlike his team-mate, and made the switch back to intermediates and managed to secure P10. Perez starts P15.
Qualifying – 2013 Australian Grand Prix
| # | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:44.657 | 1:36.745 | 1:27.407 |
| 02 | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:44.472 | 1:36.524 | 1:27.827 |
| 10 | J. Button | McLaren | 1:44.688 | 1:36.644 | 1:30.357 |
| 15 | S. Perez | McLaren | 1:44.300 | 1:39.900 | |
| 08 | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:44.284 | 1:37.641 | 1:29.013 |
| 06 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:43.380 | 1:36.194 | 1:28.523 |
| 05 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:43.850 | 1:36.691 | 1:28.493 |
| 07 | K. Räikkönen | Lotus | 1:45.545 | 1:37.517 | 1:28.738 |
| 03 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:45.456 | 1:36.625 | 1:28.087 |
| 11 | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1:45.930 | 1:38.067 | |
| 04 | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:44.635 | 1:36.666 | 1:28.490 |
| 09 | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:45.601 | 1:36.901 | 1:29.305 |
| 12 | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:47.330 | 1:38.134 | |
| 16 | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:47.328 | 1:40.290 | |
| 13 | J-E. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:44.871 | 1:38.778 | |
| 14 | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:46.450 | 1:38.915 | |
| 17 | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:47.614 | ||
| 18 | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | 1:47.776 | ||
| 19 | J. Bianchi | Marussia | 1:48.147 | ||
| 20 | M. Chilton | Marussia | 1:48.909 | ||
| 21 | G. van der Garde | Caterham | 1:49.519 | ||
| 22 | C. Pic | Caterham | 1:50.626 | ||
| Q1 107% Time: | 1:50.616 | ||||
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