New boy Vettel plays down Ferrari hopes in Melbourne.
The win also set a record, one that Hamilton had previously shared with seven times champion Michael Schumacher, of 41 wins from pole position.
Daniel Ricciardo is ready for tears, and maybe a few celebratory beers, as the cheerful Australian gears up for his 100th and last race with Red Bull in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Valtteri Bottas roared to victory in the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday as Mercedes clinched the Formula One constructors' championship for the sixth year in a row.
The pole was the 95th of Hamilton's career and seventh in nine races this season, continuing Mercedes' 100% record in qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton collected his champion's trophy at a glittering gala in Paris after ending the year in touching distance of Michael Schumacher's records for wins and titles.
A glaring error by Ferrari denied Charles Leclerc the chance to shine at home, with the 21-year-old failing to make it through the first phase and qualifying only 16th after going fastest in final practice.
Mercedes were summoned by stewards post-race for the infringement.
The last time Kimi Raikkonen stood on top of a Formula One podium, Lewis Hamilton had just joined Mercedes with one championship to his name and Sebastian Vettel was riding high with Red Bull.
'We've still got work to do to get both cars home in the points. We'll take positives from today, but we're trying to find a bit more every weekend.'
Red Bull are hoping that engine and chassis upgrades will help them beat Ferrari and Formula One champions Mercedes more often after Max Verstappen's Spanish Grand Prix victory on Sunday.
The Briton had won his own fifth championship in Mexico two weeks previously but the broader celebrations were kept in check until Interlagos.
German Nico Rosberg eased to victory in a chaotic Belgian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton won the Mexican Grand Prix for Mercedes after a first-lap scare on Sunday but the Briton will have to wait another week to wrap up his sixth Formula One world championship. Hamilton's 10th win of the season, and 83rd of his career, was also a 100th for Mercedes as a constructor.
Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel won the Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday to dash Mercedes' hopes of extending their dominance into a fourth successive season of Formula One.
Starting second behind pole-sitter Hamilton, Bottas got the jump on the Briton during a typically messy start at Albert Park and ended up cruising to his fourth win by some 20.80 seconds after delaying a tyre-change.
The Renault Formula One team will be renamed Alpine F1 from 2021, competing in French colours to showcase the carmaker's sportscar brand, new company CEO Luca de Meo announced on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton is on course for his most successful campaign yet and can become only the third driver after Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel to win 13 times in a season.
Lewis Hamilton can clinch his fifth Formula One world championship at Sunday's US Grand Prix.
The sky's the limit for George Russell after the British youngster's stellar performance
Perez, who vaulted to fourth in the overall standings after Sunday's race, is the first Mexican driver to win a race since Pedro Rodriguez took victory in the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel's hopes of vaulting back into the overall Formula One world championship lead were wrecked by a first corner collision on the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton landed an early psychological blow ahead of Formula One's Abu Dhabi title showdown by lapping faster than Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in both Friday practice sessions.
Triple world champion Lewis Hamilton took a record 69th Formula One pole position with a wet weather masterclass at the Italian Grand Prix.
'It doesn't really make a big difference if I go and drive like I do right now because I have already lost so much through the year. I can't give up because you never know what can happen. It's unlikely but you never know'
Red Bull have given "a definite no" to four-times Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel's hopes of returning to them next year, team boss Christian Horner said on Friday. The German, who is out of contract with Ferrari at the end of the season and facing an uncertain future, had said on Thursday he would say yes to a Red Bull drive if one was offered.
Nico Rosberg eased to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday with a drive that handed Mercedes their third straight constructors championship and extended the German's lead in his pursuit of a maiden Formula One title.
Formula One's Australian season-opener lacked a vital ingredient, overtaking, and it will take years to fix the problem, managing director for motorsports Ross Brawn said on Monday.
Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling Italian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday to stretch his championship lead to 30 points over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who fought back to fourth after a first lap spin.
Lewis Hamilton can become only the third driver to win 50 grands prix when Formula One returns from its month-long August break and gets back to business at Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton celebrated his 50th Formula One victory on Sunday with a pole-to-flag U.S. Grand Prix drive that kept his title hopes alive and trimmed Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg's lead to 26 points with three races remaining. Rosberg, who had been chasing his 10th triumph of the season, finished second on a sunny Texan afternoon with a big crowd but little drama -- even if Hamilton spent much of it worrying about reliability. The straightforward victory was Hamilton's fourth in Texas in five seasons and ended a barren stretch for the triple world champion dating back to his last win in Germany in July.
Lewis Hamilton took pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix for the second year in a row on Saturday with Ferrari's championship leader Sebastian Vettel alongside the Mercedes driver on the front row.
Lewis Hamilton won in Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and took championship lead.
World Champion Lewis Hamilton will start the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix from pole position after setting the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday.
Sebastian Vettel may need to rely on a stroke of luck at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday if the German wants to keep alive his diminishing hopes of claiming a fifth Formula One title.
Luca di Montezemolo's resignation as Ferrari chairman on Wednesday severs an historic link with the company's late founder Enzo and marks the end of an era for Formula One's most successful and glamorous team.
Lewis Hamilton moved within reach of a fourth Formula One world championship on Sunday after winning a Japanese Grand Prix that saw Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel retire with engine problems.
Valtteri Bottas seized his first pole position of the Formula One season in Austria on Saturday with Mercedes team mate and world championship leader Lewis Hamilton having to settle for second.
Champions Mercedes are chasing a sixth successive double, and Lewis Hamilton his sixth drivers' title, but the task looks tougher than ever.
Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg snatched pole position from Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton in the final seconds of a marathon Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session on Saturday.
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