What to Expect Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix

Hamilton lines up on pole with Raikkonen alongside him and Vettel in third.

Lewis Hamilton showed just how quick his Mercedes could go by taking pole by 0.6s over his closest rivals, an ominous statement from Mercedes with their 'party mode' engaged in final qualifying.

Whether the Silver Arrow can see off the threat of two Ferrari's behind is another question altogether. Despite seemingly being so comfortable in qualifying, the Mercedes has hit difficulties when it comes to firing up tyres immediately after a pitstop. The race is likely to be a one-stopper tomorrow so in and out laps could be crucial to gaining all-important track position.

Teammate Valtteri Bottas got his 2018 campaign off to the worst possible start. His first run in Q3 lasted a single corner as he hit the inside kerb at turn one and drifted out onto the grass in turn two, pitching his car into the wall at turn three.

In a year where his performances are key to earning another contract with the reigning world champions, this mistake only compounds the pressure on him at this very early stage. A new gearbox and likely pitlane start means he has it all to do tomorrow, but as shown by Hamilton, he is in the quickest car at Melbourne.

Ferrari couldn't get close to the pole man in qualifying but the Scuderia are quietly confident they have the race pace come Sunday to make life difficult for their rivals. An opportunity to split strategy tomorrow and force Hamilton to cover one of their cars is very likely and could mean they have a great chance of victory tomorrow.

Whether preferential treatment is given to Sebastian Vettel if both cars stay put come the first round of pitstops is up in the air. Despite the fact Kimi Raikkonen qualified first, could Ferrari already throw their championship hopes behind their number one driver?

Red Bull felt that a front row start was a possibility but do start tomorrow on the super-soft tyres over the faster but less durable ultra softs. Going long in the first stint could see them gain track position and hold up leaders coming back at them on fresh tyres, putting them right in contention when they eventually swap to the quicker tyres.

Daniel Ricciardo has a 3-place grid penalty to contend with also, he will start from 8th but with a point to prove. Teammate Max Verstappen starts P4 but has looked quick all weekend and has a real shot at finishing on the podium.

Elsewhere, strong qualifying results for both Haas and Renault puts both of those teams into a head-to-head battle at the top end of the midfield teams. Both Haas cars and Nico Hulkenberg are promoted up one position due to Ricciardo's penalty but Carlos Sainz stays put in 9th. McLaren put a disappointing testing behind them and will line up 10th and 11th but Fernando Alonso seemed happy with his performance in qualifying, saying on team radio "it's ok" despite not making Q3.

Poor qualifying from Toro Rosso, Force India and Williams mean they are amongst the back alongside the Sauber's who put in a brilliant performance in Q1 to lift their cars off the bottom of the timing sheets, a feat not expected due to the lack of aerodynamic performance from their car compared to their closest rivals.

The worst of the weather looks to have passed Melbourne now after a brief downpour prior to practice three. Whether Ferrari can repeat their 2017 result and surprise Mercedes remains to be seen, but tomorrow should be a lot closer than qualifying eventually turned out to be.