Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel of Germany gestures 'number one' after setting the fastest time during the qualifying session for Formula One's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel of Germany gestures 'number one' after setting the fastest time during the qualifying session for Formula One's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Other Sport

Vettel claims pole in Australia

The German Sebastian Vettel beat off his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber to take his seventh career F1 pole.

Red Bull-Renault's Sebastian Vettel has claimed pole position for the Australian Grand Prix. The German beat off his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber to take his seventh career F1 pole. Vettel clocked a fastest lap in the third and final qualifying stage of one minute 23.919 seconds, just 0.116sec ahead of Australian Webber. Ferrari's two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain was third fastest and will start on the inside of the second row of the race grid with reigning world champion Jenson Button.

Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa was fifth quickest just ahead of German Mercedes GP driver Nico Rosberg. Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher in a Mercedes GP will start on the fourth row of the grid alongside Brazilian Rubens Barrichello. The shock failure in the qualifying session was former world champion Lewis Hamilton, who missed out on the final stage of qualifying. The British McLaren Mercedes driver was 11th fastest in the second qualifying stage in 1:25.184 and missed out on the top 10 cars into the third and final stage by 0.062secs. * AFP

1. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault) 1:23.919 2. Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull-Renault) 1:24.035 3. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari) 1:24.111 4. Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:24.675 5. Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari) 1:24.837 6. Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes) 1:24.884 7. Michael Schumacher (GER/Mercedes) 1:24.927 8. Rubens Barrichello (BRA/Williams-Cosworth) 1:25.217 9. Robert Kubica (POL/Renault) 1:25.372 10. Adrian Sutil (GER/Force India-Mercedes) 1:26.036 Eliminated in Q2: 11. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 12. Sebastien Buemi (SUI/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 13. Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA/Force India-Mercedes) 14. Pedro de la Rosa (ESP/Sauber-Ferrari) 15. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Williams-Cosworth) Eliminated in Q1: 16. Kamui Kobayashi (JPN/Sauber-Ferrari) 17. Jaime Alguersuari (ESP/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 18. Vitaly Petrov (RUS/Renault) 19. Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/Lotus-Cosworth) 20. Jarno Trulli (ITA/Lotus-Cosworth) 21. Timo Glock (GER/Virgin-Cosworth) 22. Lucas Di Grassi (BRA/Virgin-Cosworth) 23. Bruno Senna (BRA/Hispania-Cosworth) 24. Karun Chandhok

Formula One Australian Grand Prix, 5.5-kilometre (3.3-mile) Albert Park circuit, with drivers, nationality and team: 1. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Red Bull. 2. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull. 3. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Ferrari. 4. Jenson Button, Britain, McLaren. 5. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari. 6. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes. 7. Michael Schumacher, Germany, Mercedes. 8. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Williams. 9. Robert Kubica, Poland, Renault. 10. Adrian Sutil, Germany, Force India. 11. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren. 12. Sebastien Buemi, Switzerland, Toro Rosso. 13. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Italy, Force India. 14. Pedro de la Rosa, Spain, Sauber. 15. Nico Hulkenberg, Germany, Williams. 16. Kamui Kobayashi, Japan, Sauber. 17. Jaime Alguersuari, Spain, Toro Rosso. 18. Vitaly Petrov, Russia, Renault. 19. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, Lotus. 20. Jarno Trulli, Italy, Lotus. 21. Timo Glock, Germany, Virgin. 22. Lucas di Grassi, Brazil, Virgin. 23. Bruno Senna, Brazil, Hispania. 24. Karun Chandhok, India, Hispania.

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal

Rating: 2/5

Ireland (15-1):

Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy

Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour

Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)

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Scoreline

Australia 2-1 Thailand

Australia: Juric 69', Leckie 86'
Thailand: Pokklaw 82'

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