The Briton had his Mercedes impounded on Friday evening after skidding the back tyres in sight of police at an intersection near the circuit. He is expected to be charged with "improper" use of a motor vehicle.
Lewis Hamilton's woes continued on Saturday, the 2008 world champion failing to make the third round of qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix a day after courting trouble with police for larkish driving.
The Briton had his Mercedes impounded on Friday evening after skidding the back tyres in sight of police at an intersection near the circuit. He is expected to be charged with "improper" use of a motor vehicle.
The 25-year-old, whose last trip to Albert Park was the catalyst for the scandal where he was judged to have deliberately misled racing stewards, will be 11th on the grid for Sunday's race.
McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh told reporters his driver may have been distracted by the fall-out from Friday's incident but Hamilton played it down.
"I wasn't (distracted) no ... today it definitely hasn't been easy," he told reporters with Whitmarsh by his side.
"I got in the car this morning feeling quite good. The balance of the car was not terrible, it wasn't perfect, but generally it was feeling quite good going into qualifying.
"In second qualifying I just didn't have grip for some reason so I struggled with the rear tyres."
Since winning at Albert Park in 2008 on the way to becoming the youngest F1 world champion, Hamilton's experiences in Melbourne have been fraught with controversy.
His title defence unravelled in scandal last year when he was disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix after being promoted by stewards to third place.
The Briton has been without a manager since ending his professional relationship with his father, who had guided him to the world title and managed him since he was eight.
Hamilton, who came third at Bahrain in the season-opener, rebuffed the idea the break with his father had taken its toll.
"It's not strange because I have the same people that have been there to support me even if my dad was still here," he said.
"I have the whole group behind me to help me get through it."
Whitmarsh, when asked to clarify his earlier comments about Hamilton, said: "I think I was asked was Lewis distressed by what happened last night and the answer is, that he was.
"Lewis takes his responsibility being (a former) world champion, being an ambassador for Formula One, for this sport, for this team, very seriously.
"Lewis took it seriously, he has immediately apologised, but Lewis isn't making any excuses today."
With Hamilton facing an uphill battle to make ground on Albert Park's tight street circuit on Sunday, the burden falls on McLaren team mate Jenson Button, who qualified fourth, to claw championship points away from Ferrari and Red Bull.
Despite improving from eighth on the grid at Bahrain, Button said he had few illusions about the challenge on Sunday when late rain is forecast for the twilight race.
"It''s always very tricky when you''re sort of 610ths of a second behind pole to imagine you could be fighting it out for a win," he said.
"Tomorrow is going to be a race about strategy. The weather conditions are going to play a big part so we''ve really got to to be on top of it."
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