Lewis Hamilton scored a sixth consecutive pole position in Australia, as Mercedes dominated qualifying on Saturday.
The Briton overcome a strong challenge from teammate Valtteri Bottas with a new lap record of 1m20.486s, just a tenth clear of the Finn.
Ferrari had no response to the Silver Arrows as Sebastian Vettel took third with Max Verstappen jumping between him and Charles Leclerc for Red Bull.
A strategic error not to complete a second run saw the Dutchman’s teammate Pierre Gasly an early casualty in Q1, however.
That allowed the midfield to step up with Haas’ Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen emerging ahead in sixth and seventh.
Kimi Raikkonen was a solid ninth for Alfa Romeo as Sergio Perez completed the top 10 for Racing Point.
The big absentees from the top 10 was Renault as both Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo just missed out in P11 and P12 respectively.
Alex Albon impressed as he beat Toro Rosso teammate Daniil Kvyat in 13th, with Antonio Giovinazzi between the pair in 14th.
A very competitive midfield saw just 1.2s cover P6 to P18 and resulted in a crazy end to Q1 with the circuit improving and drivers picking the pace.
That meant order was only decided in the final moments with Lance Stroll, one of the first to set his final time, falling to 16th in the Racing Point.
Gasly’s decision to stay in the pits saw him 17th ahead of Sainz, as Williams brought up the rear with George Russell 1.7s faster than teammate Robert Kubica.
The Pole’s final effort was ruined after hitting the wall on the exit of Turn 10, causing a puncture at the rear-right of his car.
Full results from qualifying can be seen below:
| Pos. | Driver | Constructor | Qualifying times | Final | ||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Grid | |||
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 01:22.0 | 01:21.0 | 01:20.5 | 1 |
| 2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 01:22.4 | 01:21.2 | 01:20.6 | 2 |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 01:22.9 | 01:21.9 | 01:21.2 | 3 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda | 01:22.9 | 01:21.7 | 01:21.3 | 4 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 01:22.0 | 01:21.7 | 01:21.4 | 5 |
| 6 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 01:23.0 | 01:21.9 | 01:21.8 | 6 |
| 7 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 01:22.5 | 01:22.2 | 01:22.1 | 7 |
| 8 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 01:22.7 | 01:22.4 | 01:22.3 | 8 |
| 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari | 01:23.0 | 01:22.3 | 01:22.3 | 9 |
| 10 | Sergio Pérez | Racing Point-BWT Mercedes | 01:22.9 | 01:22.5 | 01:22.8 | 10 |
| 11 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 01:22.5 | 01:22.6 | 11 | |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 01:22.9 | 01:22.6 | 12 | |
| 13 | Alexander Albon | Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda | 01:22.8 | 01:22.6 | 13 | |
| 14 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari | 01:22.4 | 01:22.7 | 14 | |
| 15 | Daniil Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda | 01:22.5 | 01:22.8 | 15 | |
| 16 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-BWT Mercedes | 01:23.0 | 16 | ||
| 17 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull Racing-Honda | 01:23.0 | 17 | ||
| 18 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | McLaren-Renault | 01:23.1 | 18 | ||
| 19 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 01:24.4 | 19 | ||
| 20 | Robert Kubica | Williams-Mercedes | 01:26.1 | 20 | ||
