Ferrari had a great opportunity to prevent Red Bull from securing the pole position in the 2024 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix qualifying. However, Max Verstappen ultimately claimed his third consecutive pole position of the season in the Q3 shootout.
Despite Red Bull’s success, there was a slight setback when Sergio Perez, who qualified in third place, received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg from Haas. This revised the grid for the Australian GP as follows:
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
3. Lando Norris (McLaren)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
6. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
7. George Russell (Mercedes)
8. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
11. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
12. Alex Albon (Williams)
13. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)
14. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
15. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
16. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
17. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
18. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
19. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
As a result of Perez’s penalty, Lando Norris moved up to third on the starting grid, joining Charles Leclerc from Ferrari on the second row. Leclerc had topped the second and third practice sessions in Melbourne.
Carlos Sainz, who recently returned after undergoing an appendectomy during the Saudi Arabian GP weekend, came closest to Verstappen in the final part of qualifying and will start second.
Oscar Piastri also benefited from Perez’s penalty, moving up to fifth place. Although he was not entirely satisfied with his result, he performed better than Daniel Ricciardo, who had his final Q1 lap invalidated for exceeding track limits and was eliminated as a result.
On the other hand, Yuki Tsunoda’s efforts to secure a spot in Q3 for the second consecutive race weekend paid off, as he qualified eighth, outperforming Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin.
Tsunoda’s performance played a role in Lewis Hamilton missing out on a spot in Q3. The seven-time F1 world champion will start 11th, four places behind his teammate George Russell, who claimed the final place in Q3.
Esteban Ocon managed to bring the struggling Alpine team into Q2 for the first time this season but could only achieve 15th place. He will share the eighth row with Hulkenberg, who was frustrated by Perez’s impeding but believed it was not the sole reason for his elimination in Q1, as it occurred during his first run.
Zhou Guanyu, whose front wing broke during a Q1 lap, will start 19th for Sauber, occupying the last spot on the grid for the Australian GP. This is because Williams decided to replace Logan Sargeant with Alex Albon, as the team’s only other chassis was ruled out of competition due to Albon’s accident in the first practice session on Friday.
Albon qualified in 12th place.