Incidentally, Hamilton’s fast lap of 1:22.188 set a new track qualifying record. It was his fifth consecutive pole dating back to last year’s US Grand Prix.

Quickest in FP3 was Vettel, whose fast lap of 1:23.380 was .479 of a second better than his nearest pursuer, Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. Vettel broke the all-time lap record at the Albert Park Circuit in the process, bettering it by .149 of a second. It was Vettel who held the previous record – a 1:23.529 set during qualifying in 2011 when he was with Red Bull.

Of course, the record was short-lived as Hamilton’s pole-winning mark obliterated Vettel’s FP3 time by 1.192 seconds.