Wolff "overwhelmed" after Mercedes front row lock-out

Ferrari had been rumoured to be the quicker of the two championship favourites however since touching down in Melbourne it has been the Silver Arrows in complete control, topping every session so far this weekend.

For Lewis Hamilton, his pole position was his sixth consecutive one around Albert Park, dating back to the 2014 season. Teammate Valtteri Bottas had been on provisional pole until the final runs but will line-up alongside Hamilton in second.

"I'm overwhelmed to see both our cars on the front row," Wolff said.

"The team has done a great job in the past weeks: after a difficult time in testing, especially in the first week in Spain, we have turned over every stone to find answers, to try and understand the car better. And it came together when it mattered for us today.

"But one result is not a reason to get carried away: not only is this circuit a bit of an outlier when it comes to performance, but we have strong rivals in Ferrari and Red Bull, and we know from hard experience in the past two years that the racing is done on Sunday and that's the day that counts.

"For today, though, we can be happy with what we delivered - the team for a slick job in the garage, Lewis for his 84th pole and Valtteri for showing all his speed and taking a very close P2 on the grid. Now we turn our attention to the race."