MELBOURNE - Mercedes endured their worst qualifying session of the season at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday, leaving seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton crushed and team boss Toto Wolff seeing no hope of catching Red Bull in the short term.

Hamilton was eliminated in Q2 to qualify 11th, his worst result at Albert Park since 2010, while George Russell qualified seventh for Sunday's race as the team's hopes of rebounding in Melbourne suffered a major blow.