The current Formula 1 World Champion did not appear as pleased with his car throughout the weekend compared to his Ferrari counterparts, but he made a brilliant move in the Q3 to secure his 35th career pole position.
Ongoing report…
The final ten drivers lined up in the pitlane for the ultimate face-off to determine the starting order for the Australian GP’s top ten.
Based on the results from Q1 and Q2, Ferrari had the upper hand with Sainz and Leclerc slightly outpacing Verstappen in the Red Bull. However, Q3 promised an exhilarating battle for pole position.
Sainz was the first to begin his flying lap, followed by Russell and Leclerc. The McLarens and Verstappen followed suit.
Verstappen claimed provisional pole position, with a lead of over two tenths ahead of Sainz and Leclerc, followed by Perez. On the other hand, Alonso had a messy first lap, losing control of his car in Turn 6, and therefore did not set a time.
After the completion of the first laps, the order was as follows: Verstappen – Sainz – Leclerc – Perez – Norris – Piastri – Russell – Tsunoda. Alonso and Stroll did not set a time.
With less than four minutes remaining, Stroll ventured onto the track alone to complete his only lap in Q3, with teammate Alonso following closely behind. Soon, the other drivers embarked on their second and final runs.
The remaining 15 cars took to the track, each driver striving to secure a spot in the top ten. Verstappen set the fastest time early on, ahead of Piastri, Sainz, Leclerc, and Norris.
Sainz swiftly utilized a fresh set of Soft tires and surged to the top of the timing screens, nearly two tenths ahead of Verstappen. Meanwhile, Leclerc improved to third place and Perez climbed to fifth.
After the first laps, the order stood as follows: Sainz – Verstappen – Leclerc – Piastri – Perez – Norris – Alonso – Russell – Hamilton – Stroll.
With two minutes remaining, the second round of hot laps commenced, and when it concluded, Sainz maintained his top position with a time of 1:19.189, 0.115s ahead of Leclerc in second place, while Verstappen settled for third, 0.198s off the pace.
The first driver to miss out on Q3 was Hamilton, marking a forgettable weekend for the seven-time F1 Champion. He fell short by 0.059s to teammate Russell and will start the race from 11th place.
Hamilton communicated with his engineer over the radio, asking, “Are we safe or not?” Unfortunately, the response was, “Negative, we’ve just been bumped.”
Alex Albon achieved an impressive 12th place in the Williams, finishing 0.173s ahead of Valtteri Bottas in 13th.
Kevin Magnussen secured the 14th fastest time, followed by Esteban Ocon in 15th.
The sun beamed through the remaining clouds and the temperatures increased as the beginning of qualifying was signaled. The track temperatures reached up to 35 degrees Celsius while the air temperature stood at 19 degrees.
The cars lined up at the end of the pitlane, with Albon taking the lead. He carried the weight of justifying his team’s decision to give him his teammate’s car after his own was irreparably damaged in a crash, and with no spare one available.
Albon quickly communicated through the radio, reporting, “There are numerous leaves on the track.”
Albon’s initial attempt was disqualified for exceeding track limits at Turn 10, as the replay showed him taking too much kerb.
Verstappen took the lead on his first try, but soon complained that his RB20 was experiencing excessive understeer.
Sainz swiftly surpassed Verstappen’s time to become the fastest, only to be outperformed by his teammate Leclerc. Norris and Piastri from McLaren secured fifth and sixth positions respectively after their initial run.
Hamilton soon surpassed the McLarens, securing fifth place, while Russell had a messy first attempt, placing 15th.
The replay showed Ocon hitting the wall while exiting the final corner, but no visible damage was apparent for the Alpine.
Esteban Ocon brushes the wall while exiting the final corner 💥#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/8aiqWwzQn2
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 23, 2024
Piastri and Norris improved their times on their second push lap, securing third and fastest positions respectively. Stroll also improved, reaching fifth place, while Perez moved to second and Alonso took the lead. Verstappen secured the second-fastest time behind Alonso.
The Ferraris began their second hot laps, with Sainz claiming the top spot and Leclerc becoming the fastest.
With seven minutes remaining, the order was as follows: Sainz – Leclerc – Alonso – Verstappen – Perez – Piastri – Norris – Stroll – Hamilton – Tsunoda.
Russell, on his second push lap, reported that his front brakes seemed to be malfunctioning, while several other drivers attempted another lap. Russell achieved tenth place on his second timed lap, pushing Tsunoda out of the top ten.
Gasly was being investigated by the stewards for crossing the white line at the pitlane exit.
With Q1 concluded, Sainz led the way into Q2 with a time of 1:16.731, followed closely by Perez, 0.074s behind in second place. Verstappen, who complained about understeer, secured the third-fastest time, trailing by 0.088s.
Leclerc and Alonso were in fourth and first place respectively, while Russell was in sixth place and Albon impressively secured seventh place, ahead of Tsunoda, Piastri, and Stroll, who took eighth, ninth, and tenth positions respectively.
Ocon made it into Q2, securing the 14th fastest time, while Magnussen from Haas took 15th place.
Nico Hulkenberg was the first to be eliminated from Q2, losing to his teammate by 0.267s and securing the 16th fastest time in the second Haas.
Pierre Gasly secured the 17th fastest time in the Alpine, while Daniel Ricciardo placed 18th after having his best lap disqualified for exceeding track limits. Zhou Guanyu secured the 19th fastest time.
The stewards were investigating Albon, Perez, Ocon, Russell, Magnussen, and Zhou for driving too slowly on their out-laps.