Lewis Hamilton's troubles have continued in Australia as Red Bull lived up to their billing as the current quickest cars in Formula One.
The Briton qualified his McLaren only 11th, the morning after being booked by police and having his Mercedes impounded for "improper" driving after leaving the track.
"I wasn't fast enough. I feel I got everything out of the car, I just really didn't have any more grip out of the tyres," said the 25-year-old.
"So, (it's) unfortunate, but we'll still have a good race tomorrow hopefully."
Rampant Red Bull charged to a front row sweep with Sebastian Vettel denying disappointed team-mate Mark Webber pole position for the Australian's home grand prix.
The German, still only 22 but heavily fancied for this year's Formula One title, lapped Albert Park's tight street circuit in one minute 23.919 under overcast skies for his second pole in two races.
Vettel, who finished fourth in the Bahrain season-opener after a spark plug failure robbed him of the lead, will be chasing Red Bull's fourth win in five races on Sunday.
"First of all it was a great result for both of us and the team," the German, who won four races last year and was runner-up in the championship, told reporters.
"I think that's a great achievement -- it's better than having two Ferraris up here."
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, winner on his debut for the Italian team in Bahrain, will line up third on the grid with McLaren's world champion Jenson Button alongside the Spaniard.
Michael Schumacher, the seven times world champion who made a comeback to F1 in Bahrain after a three-year absence, qualified seventh, one place behind Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg.
