It would seem that Sebastian Vettel is jinxed. As in Bahrain, Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix saw him dominate the race only to be eliminated by a mechanical problem

From his poor qualifying position, to a questionable strategy call by McLaren, to Mark Webber’s overly-optimistic passing attempt, Australia hasn’t been Lewis Hamilton’s weekend. Here Hamilton reviews his race and looks ahead to next weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix…

It may not have opened the season this year but Melbourne’s Albert Park was en fete yet again for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. Friday evening saw world champion Jenson Button star in the annual Grand Prix Ball, while the paddock teemed with stars from racing and other walks of life, displays of historic racing and road cars, and the event maintained its reputation as one of the best in the world with a card of support races calculated to keep the huge crowd entertained throughout.

Red Bull clinched the front row of the Melbourne grid with ease on Saturday, with Sebastian Vettel taking pole ahead of team mate – and local hero – Mark Webber. Behind the Red Bull duo, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, McLaren’s Jenson Button and Felipe Massa in the other Ferrari made up the top five. The big surprise, however, was Lewis Hamilton failing to make it through to Q3.

Red Bull annexed the front row of the starting grid for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, courtesy of poleman Sebastian Vettel and local hero Mark Webber. The German set the fastest time of the weekend on his first runs in Q3, with 1m 23.919s

Mark Webber owned Albert Park on Saturday afternoon in the final practice for his home race, lapping his Red Bull in 1m 24.719s to head off the challenges of Bahrain winner Fernando Alonso (1m 24.929s) in the Ferrari and the revitalised Michael Schumacher (1m 24.963s) for Mercedes. In a session that remained dry, they were the pacesetters for most of the way…

The rain during Friday’s Practice Two seemed to make all the difference for the fortunes of McLaren, with Lewis Hamilton topping the timesheets ahead of team mate Jenson Button in second. Although the British team are still unsure about where they stand when compared to their rivals, it’s certainly boosted Hamilton’s confidence…

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button set the pace early on in Friday afternoon’s practice session in Melbourne with 1m 25.801s and 1m 26.076s respectively. And, after a rain shower, the closest anyone got to them was Mark Webber who vaulted up to third place for Red Bull with 1m 26.248s. That displaced Michael Schumacher, who had been the first man to get going once the track had dried out again

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Robert Kubica got Renault’s Australian Grand Prix campaign off to a fine start with the fastest time in Friday mornings opening practice. The Pole took his R30 round in 1m 26.927s, making him the only driver to breach the 1m 27s mark.