Four-time world champion Lewis Hamilton set a new lap record to take pole position for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.
Hamilton was battling with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the third round, before the Briton produced a stunning lap to finish 0.664 seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, who earned second after finishing 0.01 seconds before his German teammate.
It was a bad day for Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, however, who crashed out at the start of final qualifying and will now start 10th at best.
"You would think that with the results we had these years it would feel the norm but it doesn't," Hamilton told reporters in a press conference. "It's so intense. I am so happy with that lap. I am always striving for perfection and that was as close as I can get."
There were solid finishes for both Haas drivers, as Kevin Magnussen and Roman Grosjean finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Full standings
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
5. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
6. Romain Grosjean (Haas)
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
8. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
9. Carlos Sainz (Renault)
10. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
11. Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
13. Sergio Perez (Force India)
14. Lance Stroll (Williams)
15. Esteban Ocon (Force India)
16. Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
17. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
18. Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
19. Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
20. Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
Jonny Whitfield
