MELBOURNE — World champion Lewis Hamilton took pole for Mercedes at Formula One’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix Saturday but condemnation for the revamped qualifying format was almost as quick as the Briton’s fastest lap.
The new system, based on progressive elimination during the three sessions rather than at the end of them, was intended to instil more excitement but instead proved a monumental flop at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit.
Rather than battle to the finish of each session, drivers posted early laps and then were content to return to their garages.
The last few minutes of both the second and final qualifying periods petered out with no drivers on track, sapping the entire process of suspense.
Hamilton, however, will be delighted by the work he did put in that allowed him to celebrate his 50th pole after posting a lap of one minute 25.351 seconds, with second-placed teammate Nico Rosberg nowhere near his time.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen are third and fourth on the grid, having confined themselves to the garage after one flying lap apiece, not bothering to even attempt to catch Hamilton’s time.
The top three qualifiers wasted little time in condemning the format as a “wrong” decision and bad for fans.
“We said at the beginning it wasn’t the right way,” three-time world champion Hamilton told reporters.
Four-times world champion Vettel said: “We all knew what was going to happen. I didn’t think it was very exciting. And in the end for the people in the grandstands, I don’t feel it’s the right way to go.”
Ironically, the new format saw little change in Formula One’s status quo, with no major surprises in the top eight positions.
Max Verstappen will line up fifth for Toro Rosso, with his team mate Carlos Sainz seventh behind Williams’s Felipe Massa.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo will line up eighth on the grid as the first eliminated from Q3. His team mate Daniil Kvyat was among the first seven knocked out of Q1, however, along with both drivers from Manor Racing, Haas and Sauber.
Renault rookie Jolyon Palmer will start 14th behind McLaren drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, the Briton sneaking into Q2 after the clock had run down on the initial session with a last flying lap that tipped Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson out.
Recriminations for the qualifying format, which was approved only two weeks before the season opener, continued to fly around the paddock well after the last checkered flag waved with no drivers on track.
“For the fans in the grandstand, it’s not the right way,” Vettel said. “We don’t need the criticism now, because we’ve had the criticism already. We need to be sensible and try to do things the right way.”
Hamilton was a little more generous toward F1’s rule makers, but not much.
“We tried something new, and its trial and error,” Hamilton said. “That’s what they tried today, even if we told them it was the wrong way. It’s just wrong when the clock is ticking and there is no one on the track.”
Qualifying can be changed for Bahrain — Ecclestone
Formula One should change its new qualifying format after it fell flat at Saturday’s Australian season-opener and tweaks can be made in time for the next race in Bahrain, the sport’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said.
Asked by pressmen whether the format should and could be changed before the second round of the championship in Bahrain on April 3, Ecclestone replied “Yes.
“This idea was the FIA’s,” added the 85-year-old, who is not in Australia for the race. “If we can get them to agree to change and we agree to change, we can change it. Or if we get all the teams to agree with us, we can change it.”
