British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton shown in action during the qualifying session at the Albert Park circuit for the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia on March 14, 2015.(Photo: Srdjan Suki, EPA)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Lewis Hamilton claimed a record-breaking fourth pole position at the Australian Grand Prix and Mercedes continued its dominance of Formula One by locking out the front row for the season-opening race with another peerless performance in Saturday’s qualifying.
Hamilton, last season’s champion driver, set a time of 1 minute, 26.327 seconds at the Albert Park circuit; six-tenths of a second faster than teammate Nico Rosberg, as Mercedes made it a one-two in qualifying for the ninth consecutive race dating back to last season.
Mercedes’ performance underscored the significant edge the team retains heading into the new season after an all-conquering 2014. Hamilton’s time was 1.4 seconds faster than third-place Felipe Massa of Williams — a giant margin in F1 terms.
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