Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber took the first two spots in qualifying as Red Bull locked out the front row of the grid at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, but Britain's Lewis Hamilton slumped down the grid.
German driver Vettel, still only 22 but heavily fancied for this year's Formula One title, lapped Albert Park's tight street circuit in one minute 23.919 seconds under overcast skies for his second pole in as many races.
Vettel, who finished fourth in the Bahrain season-opener after a spark plug failure robbed him of the lead, will be chasing Red Bull's fourth win in five races on Sunday.
Vettel's team-mate Webber was disappointed not to start from the front as he bids to become his country's first home winner, finishing just over a tenth of a second slower than Vettel after setting the early pace in the third session.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso will start third while world champion Jenson Button took fourth in his McLaren.
Felipe Massa took fifth spot in the other Ferrari, while Mercedes GP drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher occupy sixth and seventh spots. Seven-times world champion Schumacher trailed his team-mate after having edged him during practice, but the gap between the two cars was just four hundredths of a second.
But there was further misery for Button's team-mate Hamilton - who was stopped by police on Friday night - as he failed to make it into the third and final qualifying session. Hamilton will start 11th on Sunday's race.
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh admitted that Hamilton's eye was not on the ball following his run-in with the Melbourne police.
"I think he was a little bit distracted by what happened last night," said Whitmarsh.
"He will be very disappointed with his performance, but he's a very strong racer."
Vettel takes pole in Melbourne
