Cloudy. Dry. Air +19C, highway +35…34C
Qualifying at Albert Park is always interesting. The track, surrounded by barriers, does not forgive mistakes. Almost all sessions were interrupted by red flags due to accidents, and Alex Albon crashed the car so badly on Friday morning that it could not be repaired and there was no spare chassis. Williams had to get rid of Logan Sargent and build a car for Albon on his chassis. So only 19 pilots took part in the qualification.
At Ferrari, Carlos Sainz returned to the wheel two weeks after an appendectomy. He assessed how he felt during the training and decided to continue.
On Friday and Saturday morning, Charles Leclerc showed the best time; minimal gaps promised an interesting battle in qualifying.
For the first time this season, Pirelli brought a “soft” trio of compounds to the podium – C3, C4 and C5 in Hard, Medium and Soft roles.
In the first session everyone went to Soft. On the first attempt, Leclerc set the best time, completing a lap in 1:17.244.
Gasly crossed the white line as he left the pit lane. The stewards will review this incident after qualifying.
On the second attempt, first Alonso was faster, then Sainz with 1:16.731 – this result remained the best. Hulkenberg, Gasly, Ricciardo and Zhou, who damaged the front wing, dropped out of the further fight. Daniel rode with improvement, but went off track and the round was cancelled.
In the second session everyone was using Soft again. On the first attempt, Verstappen topped the timesheet with 1:16.387.
In the second Sainz drove faster: 1:16.189, this time no one could beat. Hamilton, Albon, Bottas, Magnussen and Ocon did not qualify for the final.
In the final Verstappen showed the best time on the first attempt: 1:16.048. Alonso flew into the gravel and returned to the pits. Stroll missed the attempt. After a hard attack on the curb, Piastri asked the mechanics to check the bottom and drove away again.
On the second attempt, Verstappen recorded a time of 1:15.915; no one managed to go faster.
==
Max Verstappen qualified in Melbourne and took his 35th career pole, his fourth in a row and his third this season.
On Sunday, Carlos Sainz will share the front row with him, Perez and Norris will start from the second row.
Qualifying results
| Pilot | Team | 1 session | Session 2 | Session 3 | ||||||
| M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | ||
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 3 | 1:16,819 | 9 | 3 | 1:16,387 | 6 | 1 | 1:15,915 | 6 |
| 2. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 1 | 1:16,731 | 6 | 1 | 1:16,189 | 6 | 2 | 1:16,185 | 6 |
| 3. C. Perez | Red Bull | 2 | 1:16,805 | 9 | 5 | 1:16,631 | 7 | 3 | 1:16,274 | 6 |
| 4. L.Norris | McLaren | eleven | 1:17,430 | 7 | 7 | 1:16,750 | 6 | 4 | 1:16,315 | 6 |
| 5. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | 4 | 1:16,984 | 6 | 2 | 1:16,304 | 9 | 5 | 1:16,435 | 5 |
| 6. O. Piastri | McLaren | 9 | 1:17,369 | 7 | 4 | 1:16,601 | 5 | 6 | 1:16,572 | 6 |
| 7. D. Russell | Mercedes | 6 | 1:17,062 | 9 | 10 | 1:16,901 | 7 | 7 | 1:16,724 | 7 |
| 8. Yu.Tsunoda | RB | 8 | 1:17,356 | 6 | 9 | 1:16,791 | 6 | 8 | 1:16,788 | 6 |
| 9. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 10 | 1:17,376 | 9 | 8 | 1:16,780 | 9 | 9 | 1:17.072 | 5 |
| 10. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 5 | 1:16,991 | 6 | 6 | 1:16,710 | 9 | 10 | 1:17,552 | 6 |
| 11. L.Hamilton | Mercedes | 12 | 1:17,499 | 9 | eleven | 1:16,961 | 6 | |||
| 12. A. Elbon | Williams | 7 | 1:17.130 | 9 | 12 | 1:17,167 | 6 | |||
| 13. V. Bottas | Sauber | 13 | 1:17,543 | 9 | 13 | 1:17,340 | 6 | |||
| 14. K.Magnussen | Hare | 15 | 1:17,709 | 7 | 14 | 1:17,427 | 6 | |||
| 15. E.Okon | Alps | 14 | 1:17,617 | eleven | 15 | 1:17,697 | 10 | |||
| 16. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | 16 | 1:17,976 | 8 | ||||||
| 17. P. Gasly | Alps | 17 | 1:17,982 | eleven | ||||||
| 18. D. Ricciardo | RB | 18 | 1:18,085 | 6 | ||||||
| 19. G.Zhou | Sauber | 19 | 1:18,188 | 9 | ||||||
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.
