Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will start from pole position when Formula 1 returns to Melbourne.
The championship leader from Monaco won qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday in 1:17.868 minutes.
On Sunday (7.00 a.m. CEST in the FAZ live ticker for Formula 1 and on Sky) he will start the third race of the season ahead of world champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
For Leclerc it is the eleventh pole of his career and the second of the season.
Mick Schumacher made it into the second section of the qualification for the second time.
The 23-year-old also won the duel with his team-mate Kevin Magnussen, who will start one place behind him, in 15th place.
Record world champion Lewis Hamilton put the weakening Mercedes in fifth place.
Sunday's race will be Australia's first since 2019.
In the past two years, the traditional race had been canceled due to the corona pandemic.
Before the third round of the season, Leclerc (45 points) leads the overall standings in front of Carlos Sainz (33) in the second Ferrari and defending champion Verstappen (25).
Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, was eliminated in the first of three sections.
After hitting the barriers in the last practice session, the four-time world champion was only able to do one fast lap and only managed 18th place. Because of a penalty for Alexander Albon (Williams), Vettel moved up to 17th on the grid.
His Aston Martin team only managed to get the car roadworthy again at the last second.
The 34-year-old starts his first Grand Prix of the year from far behind on Sunday.
A few hours earlier, Vettel flew off the track after a driving error in the final practice session and was unable to catch his car.
"I lost control, sorry," Vettel radioed to his team.
Both the front wing and the left front suspension were badly damaged.
For Vettel, the crash was the continuation of a difficult trip down under.
On Friday he had already completely missed the second practice session after suffering an engine failure on his car in the first session.
The Heppenheimer had missed the first two races of the year due to a coronavirus infection and is now starting the season late in Melbourne.
Vettel's teammate Lance Stroll also dropped out in the first part of the qualification.
The Canadian collided violently with his compatriot Nicholas Latifi from Williams.
The two North Americans destroyed their cars in the crash, which resulted in a longer break.
That's the only reason why Vettel was still able to drive.