Red Bull's Vettel takes pole for Australian GP

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - World champion Sebastian Vettel will start from pole Sunday in Formula One's season-opening Australian Grand Prix after a dominant performance in qualifying Saturday.

The Red Bull driver had a time of 1 minute, 23.529 seconds, more than three-quarters of a second quicker than nearest rival Lewis Hamilton of McLaren.

Red Bull's Mark Webber will start third in front of his home crowd, with Jenson Button of McLaren fourth as he attempts to win the race for a third straight year.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso qualified fifth and Mercedes' Michael Schumacher was 11th.