Lewis Hamilton in pole position.

Tomorrow for the Australian Grand Prix, the first race of this 2008 season, Lewis Hamilton will have the priviledge to start from the pole position.

This qualifying session has been full of surprizes. First, the defending champion, Kimi Raikkonen, will have to start from the 16th place because of mechanical problems. His Ferrari has stalled just before the entrance of the pitlane, disqualifying him by a new rule. This new rule states that any car stalling on the circuit during a qualifying session is automatically disqualified. A huge task is awaiting him for tomorrow's race.

Also, Fernando Alonso, who is now back within the Renault team has failed to place his car in the top ten. Alonso will start from the 12th position, a surprize itself.

As for the pleasant surprizes, Robert Kubica in his BMW-Sauber has qualified himself in second place while a surprizing Sebastian Vettel in his Toro Rosso has managed to place 10th. We also note that both Toyota drivers managed to place inside the top ten.

Here is the top ten on the starting grid:

Pole: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:26.714
2-Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber) 1:26.869
3-Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 1:27.079
4-Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:27.178
5-Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) 1:27.236
6-Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:28.527
7-Nico Rosberg (Williams) 1:28.687
8-David Coulthard (Red Bull) 1:29.041
9-Timo Glock (Toyota) 1:29.593
10-Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) 1:29.xxx

(Picture: Lewis Hamilton, McLaren)