Bailey Storms to Maiden Pole
McLaren Mercedes rookie Stephen Bailey stormed to pole position for the Australian Grand Prix. Bailey made the most of changing track conditions to take a comfortable pole from Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari.
Bailey celebrates an outstanding pole on debut
BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld also used the conditions to get him up to a fantastic third on the grid. Alonso, who was on course for pole after the second split, made a crucial error in the final corner, sliding wide onto the still wet curb which caused him to lose over a second, which resulted in the world champion finishing fourth. Felipe Massa did a fantastic job to take fifth after going out early on in the session was the track was at its greasiest.
The surprise of the session was Jenson Button, who managed to take an improbable 11th on the grid, although this wasn't enough to beat Honda "B" team, Super Aguri. Anthony Davidson got his SA07 into the top ten for the first time in the teams brief history. Button's team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, continued to struggle however, setting a time that only got him 19th.
As expected, the midfield pack was evenly matched, despite the conditions. 1.4 seconds covered 7th to 15th.
Neither David Coulthard or Vitantonio Liuzzi managed to set a time due to mechanical dramas.