15-Mar-08: Hamilton Takes Pole in Australia

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This is F1 Minute for the 15^th March.

The new format qualifying took place today, with Hamilton taking pole position, but there were a few surprises along the way. Kimi Raikkonen broke down during the first session, meaning that although his time got him through to the second, he couldn’t actually take part. He will now face a race through the pack tomorrow.

Webber spun off in Quali 2, which was quite disappointing in front of his home crowd. He caused a red flag and the session to be stopped while his car was cleared from the track.

Sutil also spun right at the end of the second session. Yellow flags were waved but a few of the drivers didn’t seem to heed them. Trulli, Rosberg, Fisichella and Button were all called to answer how they managed to set their fastest times while under yellow flags. No penalties were given though.

One driver who is suffering from multiple penalties is Timo Glock. He has had a gearbox change dropping him five grid places, and was then found to have impeded another driver’s lap, meaning another five place drop.

The two front rows of the grid take the form of Hamilton, Kubica, Kovalainen and Massa. It should be a good race, for all the headlines, join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.