Verstappen secures pole position for Australian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen claimed an assured pole position in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, with the Dutchman setting the pace ahead of Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez.

After setting a time of 1:16.048s in the first runs of Q3, Verstappen improved on his effort in the final laps with a 1:15.915s. This put him 0.270s clear of Sainz, who had looked impressive in his first qualifying since returning following surgery for appendicitis two weeks ago.

Perez will share the second row with the lead McLaren of Lando Norris, while Charles Leclerc wound up fifth after abandoning his final flying lap.

Home favourite Oscar Piastri will start from sixth, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in seventh and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda in eighth after a strong performance.

The Aston Martin duo of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso completed the top 10, with each having a moment during their laps in Q3.

There was a shock in the final moments of Q2 as Lewis Hamilton was pushed out of the top 10 by Tsunoda, meaning that the seven-time world champion will start from P11 on the grid following a difficult session for Mercedes.

He will be joined on the sixth row by Alex Albon, who has taken over the chassis of team mate Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the weekend, after Williams were left with only one following Albon’s crash in Free Practice 1.

Valtteri Bottas – a keen fan of Australia – will start from P13, with Kevin Magnussen the lead Haas in P14 while Esteban Ocon hauled his Alpine into P15, despite a brush with the wall in Q1.

Nico Hulkenberg was amongst the drivers eliminated in Q1, with the German set to start from P16, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly ended the session in P17 and will also be investigated after the session for crossing the line at the pit exit.

Meanwhile Daniel Ricciardo suffered an early exit in front of his home fans, having had a lap time deleted and ultimately finishing Q1 in P18. The Kick Sauber of Zhou Guanyu will start from the back in P19, with only 19 cars running due to Sargeant’s absence.

Q1

Ahead of the session getting underway at 1600 local time, several cars had already formed a queue at the end of the pit lane, with the sole Williams of Albon leading the pack out onto the Albert Park Circuit after the green light appeared.

The majority of the field opted to run the soft tyres for their opening laps in what were slightly warmer conditions than those seen earlier in the day during Free Practice 3.

There was an early moment for Albon as he went wide through the final corner before then losing the lap time altogether due to track limits, while Ocon had a very close brush with the barriers. The Alpine driver subsequently limped back to the pits, having seemingly picked up some damage.

Meanwhile the stewards confirmed that they would investigate an impeding incident between Perez and Hulkenberg in Turn 13 after the session, while Gasly was later noted for crossing the line at the pit exit, adding to Alpine’s recent woes.

As Q1 wore on and the lap times continued to fall, the Ferraris and Red Bulls were looking fast while Alonso briefly topped the timesheets with an impressive lap in the Aston Martin. Sainz ultimately came out on top with a time of 1:16.731s.

Albon bolstered Williams’ prospects by putting himself up into sixth place as the minutes ticked down, while a host of drivers bolted on a fresh set of tyres in the hopes of avoiding the elimination zone.

Amongst them was Ricciardo, who reached P10 before having a lap time deleted due to track limits, dropping him down to P18. Elsewhere, Ocon gave Alpine a boost by impressively claiming P14.

Team mate Gasly wasn’t so lucky, though. The Frenchman was eliminated in P17, along with Hulkenberg in P16, the aforementioned Ricciardo in P18 and Zhou – who appeared to have picked up some damage to his front wing – rounding out the pack in P19.

Knocked out: Hulkenberg, Gasly, Ricciardo, Zhou

Q2

It was a busy start to the 15-minute Q2 session, with some drivers – including the Red Bull duo – running a fresh set of soft tyres while the likes of Ferrari opted for used rubber.

Sainz and Verstappen exchanged times at the top of the timesheets, with Verstappen ultimately setting the initial pace with a lap of 1:16.387s, while Piastri surely delighted the home fans by putting himself into P2.

As the Ferrari pair switched to fresh C5 tyres for their quick laps, Sainz looked to have the edge over team mate Leclerc. The Spaniard again went top, with Leclerc slotting into third behind Verstappen.

Further back, the final moments of Q2 saw several drivers try to find a way into the top 10. While most were left in the elimination zone, Tsunoda succeeded in putting himself up into P9, leading the charge for RB.

This resulted in Hamilton being pushed out of the top 10 and into P11, continuing what has been a difficult visit to Albert Park so far for the Mercedes driver. Also exiting were Albon, Bottas, Magnussen and Ocon, all flying the flag for their respective teams.

Knocked out: Hamilton, Albon, Bottas, Magnussen, Ocon

Q3

There were a mixture of new and old tyres being used as Q3 got underway, with fresh rubber for the Ferraris, Red Bulls and McLarens while others opted for used.

As the first laps came in, Sainz again looked quick and put himself into provisional pole, before Verstappen took the position by more than two tenths of a second with a lap of 1:16.048s.

Elsewhere Alonso had a visit to the gravel at Turn 6, prompting the Spaniard to return to the pits without setting a time, while Stroll had also stayed in the pits during the initial runs and instead completed his lap while the track was clear of traffic.

During the final runs, Verstappen improved on his time to stay P1 with a 1:15.915s, while Sainz managed to separate the Red Bulls by slotting into second ahead of Perez in third.

Norris was the lead McLaren in fourth, while Leclerc abandoned his last lap and ended the session in fifth. Piastri is set to start from sixth, ahead of Russell in seventh and an impressive Tsunoda in eighth.

After both experienced a moment on track during their respective laps, Stroll and Alonso finished Q3 in P9 and P10.

Sergio Perez will however drop three grid positions after receiving a penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg during qualifying.

The incident occurred in Q1 of the hour when Hulkenberg was forced to take avoiding action on his flying lap after encountering Perez – on an out lap – into Turn 13.

The 2024 Australian Grand Prix is set to begin at 15:00 local time (an eye-watering 04:00 start GMT).