Max Verstappen took pole position in a session that saw Sergio Perez make a mistake early on that’ll see the Mexican start last for tomorrow’s race.
Q1
Rainfall in Melbourne over the last 24 hours provided a greasy track that proved to cause some issues early on. Logan Sargeant had spun after touching the exit kerb on the penultimate corner, whilst Sergio Perez had a massive lock up turn 3, beaching his Red Bull and bringing out the red flag. He complained about an unnamed issue which had previously cropped up, which might have contributed to the error.
Hometown favourite Piastri was unable to lift himself out of the elimination zone, having complained about the car being “under balanced”.
Sargeant was unable to get the most out of his Williams, as whilst Albon was able to place himself 8th in Q1, the American was eliminated in 18th.
Alpha Tauri saw both drivers through to Q2 for the first time this season, though the margins remained slim for those towards the back of the grid.
Eliminated
16. Oscar Piastri – McLaren +0.046
17. Zhou Guanyu – Alfa Romeo +0.069
18. Logan Sargeant – Williams +0.086
19. Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo +0.243
20. Sergio Perez – Red Bull NO TIME
Q2
Track evolution was high throughout the session, with drivers wanting to stay out on tyres that had already gone through a heat cycle. This meant there was often a lot of cars on track at any one moment. It also meant that some drivers were able to improve significantly up the field, with the likes of Gasly and Hulkenberg both briefly flirting with the top four,
McLaren’s early season struggles continued as Norris was only able to put in a lap good enough for 13th.
Albon was able to put his Williams into Q3 for the first time this season. There was a small element of fortune as Esteban Ocon had encountered traffic on his final run, only losing out by 7 thousandths.
Eliminated:
11. Esteban Ocon – Alpine +0.007
12. Yuki Tsunoda – Alpha Tauri +0.338
13. Lando Norris – McLaren +0.358
14. Kevin Magnussen – Haas +0.368
15. Nyck De Vries – Alpha Tauri +0.574
Q3
A threat of rain for the end of the session added an element of urgency to the final qualifying session. Warmup strategies varied between drivers, with Verstappen wanting to immediately go for a fast lap, and Alonso going for an extra warmup lap.
After their initial runs, there was less than three tenths separating the top seven drivers. This includes Verstappen being on provisional pole by just 9 thousandths over Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen would then create a large gap, being the first to dip into the 1:16’s with his final run. Russell also managed to do so, but was still two tenths slower, though it was a good enough lap for 2nd place.
Hamilton in the other Mercedes managed 3rd, making this Mercedes’ best qualifying session of the season so far.
Qualifying Results
1 Max Verstappen – Red Bull 1:16.732
2. George Russell – Mercedes +0.236
3. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes +0.372
4. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin +0.407
5. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari +0.538
6. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin +0.576
7. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari +0.637
8. Alex Albon – Williams +0.877
9. Pierre Gasly – Alpine +0.943
10. Nico Hulkenberg – Haas +1.003
