Qualifying for the 2015 Australian Grand Prix took place at Albert Park on March 14. Mercedes led the way from Q1, with Hamilton emerging from the three knockout stages to claim the first pole position of the new season in 1:26.327, while Rosberg secured second.
Hamilton set a 1:28.586 in Q1, with Rosberg second on 1:28.906. Massa posted a 1:29.246 on soft tyres and was the closest challenger to Mercedes; the two Silver Arrows demonstrated a clear advantage from the opening segment.
At the end of Q2, Nasr was 11th with a 1:28.800, missing out on Q3 by 0.074 seconds to 10th-placed Maldonado. He was 0.068 seconds quicker than Verstappen in 12th. Verstappen caught a slide on the exit of Turn 5.
On the first runs in Q3, Hamilton initially set a 1:26.419. Rosberg ran wide at Turn 15 and failed to gain the upper hand on his first run; Vettel was provisionally second at that point, with pole position and the front-row order still to be decided on the final timed laps.
On the final runs, Rosberg moved into second with a 1:26.921. Hamilton improved his personal best to 1:26.327 to secure pole by 0.594 seconds. The two teammates occupied the first two grid positions, with the gap between them becoming the focal point of the session.
Massa took third with a 1:27.718, beating Vettel’s 1:27.757 by 0.039 seconds. Ferrari drivers Vettel and Räikkönen finished fourth and fifth respectively, with Williams driver Bottas sixth, as Massa and Vettel contested the two places on the second row.
Ricciardo and Sainz finished seventh and eighth, with Grosjean and Maldonado taking ninth and 10th. Kvyat still took part in qualifying after suffering an engine problem in third practice and finished 13th; Ricciardo set a 1:28.329 in Q3.
Sauber’s Ericsson was eliminated in Q1 in 16th, with Button and Magnussen 17th and 18th respectively. Neither Manor car took part in qualifying, so they did not appear in the official classification; Ericsson, Button and Magnussen were all eliminated in Q1.
| Position | Car No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:28.586 | 1:26.894 | 1:26.327 | 16 |
| 2 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:28.906 | 1:27.097 | 1:26.921 | 14 |
| 3 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:29.246 | 1:27.895 | 1:27.718 | 21 |
| 4 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:29.307 | 1:27.742 | 1:27.757 | 12 |
| 5 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:29.754 | 1:27.807 | 1:27.790 | 17 |
| 6 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:29.641 | 1:27.796 | 1:28.087 | 16 |
| 7 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:29.788 | 1:28.679 | 1:28.329 | 22 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:29.597 | 1:28.601 | 1:28.510 | 22 |
| 9 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:29.537 | 1:28.589 | 1:28.560 | 20 |
| 10 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:29.847 | 1:28.726 | 1:29.480 | 20 |
| 11 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:30.430 | 1:28.800 | — | 17 |
| 12 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:29.248 | 1:28.868 | — | 15 |
| 13 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:30.402 | 1:29.070 | — | 9 |
| 14 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Force India | 1:29.651 | 1:29.208 | — | 14 |
| 15 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:29.990 | 1:29.209 | — | 13 |
| 16 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:31.376 | — | — | 10 |
| 17 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:31.422 | — | — | 7 |
| 18 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren | 1:32.037 | — | — | 8 |
