article_snippet: World champion Lewis Hamilton was over half a second quicker than Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, and nearly 1.4 seconds faster than third-placed Felipe Massa of Williams.
article_snippet: Rosberg, runner-up in last year's championship amid considerable tension between the two drivers, said his teammate "drove like a champ.
article_snippet: The veteran Massa said The veteran Massa achieved The veteran Massa goal of being the "best of the rest" as The veteran Massa finished just ahead of Ferrari's new signing Sebastian Vettel and the German's teammate Kimi Raikkonen.
article_snippet: Massa's Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas qualified sixth but will face a fitness test on Sunday morning after experiencing back pain in the first two sessions.
article_snippet: Four-time world champion Vettel played down Ferrari's big improvement on last season's speed.
article_snippet: Last year Four-time world champion Vettel was upstaged by new teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who qualified second and then finished runner-up in Four-time world champion Vettel home race only to be disqualified for a fuel-flow infringement.
article_snippet: On Sunday Four-time world champion Vettel will start in seventh place as Red Bull's Renault-powered car struggled to match the Mercedes engines, while Four-time world champion Vettel's replacement  
article_snippet: Daniil Kvyat was 13th after failing to reach Q3.
article_snippet: We suffered a bit this time Last year, but there are a few more issues this year which weren't expected," said Ricciardo, who was third in the 2014 championship.
article_snippet: Carlos Sainz Jnr., son of the former rally champion,
article_snippet: qualified eighth while Dutch 17-year-old Max Verstappen -- whose father Jos raced in F1 -- was 12th.
article_snippet: Lotus rounded out the top 10 with Romain Grosjean ninth ahead of teammate Pastor Maldonado.
article_snippet: Former world champion Jenson Button was 17th and Kevin Magnussen -- filling in for new signing Fernando Alonso, who is recovering from concussion -- was 18th.
highlights_snippet: World champion Lewis Hamilton significantly quicker than Mercedes teammate in Melbourne .