Cloudy. Dry. Air +14C, rail +21C
However the configuration of the Albert Park circuit changes, the most important session of the weekend will be qualifying. Gaining positions at the start in Melbourne is much harder than losing, so in free practice everyone worked on speed in a fast lap.
During practice there were problems with GPS, red flags disrupted, it was raining – the traditional Grand Prix posed a lot more questions for the teams than the “sterile” Asian stages, which only increased interest.
On Thursday there were already many fans in Albert Park and on Saturday the stands were well filled from the morning. It rained several times, but ended as quickly as it started and did not affect the balance of power. In qualifying, the riders rode only on slicks.
In the first session everyone went to Soft. In the sixth minute Sargent, who missed the second practice due to problems with the car, flew onto the grass after a corner, but was still able to continue.
In the seventh minute, Perez flew out and got stuck in the gravel. In the third practice, Sergio had constant problems with the brakes, which for some reason could not be solved in Red Bull Racing. “Something needs to be done about this, I still have the same problems,” said Perez. There were red flags. For Sergio, qualifying ended as soon as he started.
Eight minutes later, the riders continued to fight. Verstappen set the fastest time with a lap time of 1:17.384. Piastri, Zhou, Sargent, Bottas and Perez fell from the further battle.
In the second session, Verstappen went off track, lost time in this lap, but then drove nicely. Max lost his only real opponent – a teammate who retired due to brake problems – and dominated.
Norris crashed into the gravel in turn 3 but kept going. Verstappen took the lead from 1:17.056. Okon, Tsunoda, Norris, Magnussen and de Vries failed to qualify for the final.
In the final, at the first attempt, Hamilton was in the lead for a few minutes, but then Verstappen was nine thousandths ahead of him and completed a lap in 1:17.262.
On the second attempt, Max added – 1:16.732, Hamilton got into traffic and lost to his partner.
Max Verstappen won the Melbourne qualifying with his 22nd career pole and second of the season. George Russell will start next to him tomorrow from the front row, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso from the second row.
Qualifying results
| Pilot | Team | 1 session | 2 session | 3 session | ||||||
| m | Time | kr | m | Time | kr | m | Time | kr | ||
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1 | 1:17,384 | 9 | 1 | 1:17.056 | 7 | 1 | 1:16,732 | 6 |
| 2.D Russell | Mercedes | 2 | 1:17,654 | eleven | 6 | 1:17,513 | 10 | 2 | 1:16,968 | 8 |
| 3. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 3 | 1:17,689 | 10 | 7 | 1:17,551 | 10 | 3 | 1:17.104 | 8 |
| 4. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 5 | 1:17,832 | eleven | 2 | 1:17,283 | 7 | 4 | 1:17.139 | 8 |
| 5. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 7 | 1:17,928 | 10 | 3 | 1:17,349 | 10 | 5 | 1:17,270 | 8 |
| 6. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 6 | 1:17,873 | eleven | 9 | 1:17,616 | 9 | 6 | 1:17,308 | 6 |
| 7. Sch. Leclerc | Ferrari | eleven | 1:18.218 | 9 | 4 | 1:17,390 | 9 | 7 | 1:17,369 | 7 |
| 8. A. Albon | Willems | 8 | 1:17,962 | 12 | 10 | 1:17,761 | 9 | 8 | 1:17,609 | 6 |
| 9.P Gasly | Alps | 13 | 1:18.312 | 9 | 8 | 1:17,574 | 8 | 9 | 1:17,675 | 8 |
| 10. N. Hulkenberg | hare | 9 | 1:18.029 | 10 | 5 | 1:17,412 | 9 | 10 | 1:17,735 | 7 |
| 11. E. Okon | Alps | 4 | 1:17,770 | 10 | eleven | 1:17,768 | 8 | |||
| 12. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 15 | 1:18,471 | 12 | 12 | 1:18.099 | 10 | |||
| 13. L. Norris | McLaren | 12 | 1:18,243 | 13 | 13 | 1:18.119 | eleven | |||
| 14. K. Magnussen | hare | 10 | 1:18.159 | 10 | 14 | 1:18.129 | 8 | |||
| 15.N. deVries | AlphaTauri | 14 | 1:18.450 | 12 | 15 | 1:18.335 | eleven | |||
| 16. O. Piastri | McLaren | 16 | 1:18,517 | 12 | ||||||
| 17.G Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 17 | 1:18,540 | 12 | ||||||
| 18. L. Sargent | Willems | 18 | 1:18,557 | 12 | ||||||
| 19. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 19 | 1:18,714 | 12 | ||||||
| 20. C. Perez | Red Bull | 20 | – | 2 | ||||||
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
