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Hamilton beats Kubica to pole position

Kimi Raikkonen talks to the media after failing to finish in the official qualifying session for the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne yesterday. PHOTO: AP

Lewis Hamilton got the first jump on Kimi Raikkonen to capitalize on a Ferrari mechanical glitch and seize pole position for today's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Hamilton put his McLaren on pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix yesterday while world champion Raikkonen qualified 15th after his Ferrari broke down.

The 23-year-old Briton lined up a perfect start to his second season in Formula One by beating Poland's Robert Kubica, in a BMW Sauber, by 0.155 of a second on a hot afternoon at Albert Park.

Finland's Heikki Kovalainen qualified third on his McLaren debut and swept champions Ferrari out of the top three. Brazilian Felipe Massa was fourth for the Italian team.

"To start the season, it couldn't be a better position for both of us," said Hamilton, with McLaren turning over a new leaf after the spying controversy that cost them US$100 million and last year's constructors' title.

"It's going to be a very tough race tomorrow and we just have to do the best we can in managing our tires and hope for the best," he said.

Models pose at the pit lane during a practice session for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne yesterday. PHOTO: EPA

Kubica, appearing on the front row for the first time, might have claimed pole but ran wide on turn 12. The driver controlled the slide brilliantly but lost the couple of tenths that would have put him in front of Hamilton.

"This is the new style," he said of the slide, referring to the absence of traction control and other so-called `driver aids' this year.

"I took quite a lot of risk which in the end didn't pay off because I lost more", Kubica said. "But anyway I think it is a great achievement for [the] whole team."

While Hamilton celebrated his seventh pole position from just 18 starts his main rival Raikkonen suffered.

The Finn, winner in Melbourne on his Ferrari debut last year, was eliminated after the first phase of qualifying when his car slowed with a fuel pump problem.

He would have been 16th but Toyota's ninth-placed German Timo Glock collected two five place penalties, one for an unscheduled gearbox change, the other for impeding a driver, and dropped to 19th.

Spain's double world champion Fernando Alonso, back with Renault after a turbulent year at McLaren, failed to reach the final 10-car shootout for pole and will line up 11th on the grid.

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