The three free practice sessions of the Australian F1 Grand Prix highlighted Max Verstappen’s ability to take the lead very quickly, from his first qualifying laps.
It was therefore as a favorite that the Red Bull driver started this qualifying session, ahead of a group of outsiders that were difficult to classify. His teammate Sergio Pérez experienced a precarious balance and several exits from the track.
Mercedes were solid but a little slower, while Fernando Alonso and, to a lesser extent, Lance Stroll showed promising performances for Aston Martin F1. Note that the Alpine drivers also seemed to mingle with this group during EL3 this morning.
The rain has appeared on several occasions at Albert Park since PR3, and it was difficult to know how much qualifying would be disrupted, even if it stopped raining 10 minutes into the session.
Q1 – 18 minutes
The wind picked up before the session and the rain was still threatening when Q1 started. The track was washed out by a shower before the F2 race, which meant a precarious grip for this qualifying, especially as the track was rather cold with 21 degrees.
Due to the risk of rain, the drivers rushed to the track as soon as the light turned green. The Williams were first at the end of the pit line ahead of the AlphaTauri and the Alfa Romeo, split by the McLaren of Lando Norris.
Alex Albon took the first reference, quickly beaten by Valtteri Bottas then Guanyu Zhou, and it was Kevin Magnussen who set the fastest lap of these first attempts, while Norris placed second.
Albon followed that up with a fast second lap, as the Red Bulls, Ferraris, Mercedes and Aston Martins took to the track. Sargeant spun in the third corner, and the Alpines went out too.
Albon set the best time in 1’18.944, and Nico Hülkenberg beat him in 1’18.373. Oscar Piastri placed his McLaren just ahead of Norris in fourth place.
Max Verstappen was on his first fast lap when Sergio Pérez went off track and lightly hit the barrier! The Mexican backed up but crashed his Red Bull into the gravel, and the red flag was waved.
The session was restarted under a still gray but very slightly clearer sky, and many drivers returned to the track. There were 11 minutes left on the clock and only nine drivers had set a time.
Verstappen set the best time in 1’18.063, and Alonso was fourth by one second. Stroll took the third fastest time, 4 tenths behind Verstappen. Sainz had a second warm-up lap.
Russell finished with his lap by moving into fifth, and Hamilton pushed him back to fourth. Leclerc also did a second round of preparation.
Albon was second, 0.080 behind Verstappen, taking the absolute best second sector! Sainz set the third fastest time and Leclerc seventh. Norris moved up to sixth.
Alonso set a quick second lap and took first in 1m17.832s, immediately beaten by Verstappen in 1m17.469s. Stroll was third fastest, Russell improved to fourth, and Hamilton sixth.
And Albon improved again taking third position. The Williams driver wondered yesterday about the possibility of making the changes to the FW45 work this weekend, it is clear that he succeeded.
Leclerc took eighth position and Kevin Magnussen ninth. Piastri improved, but only to 14th place. Pierre Gasly moved up to 11th place, and Sargeant to 12th position. Guanyu Zhou immediately beat him, and Esteban Ocon moved up to eighth.
Verstappen improved to 1:17.384, and Russell took third. Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda took 12th and 13th, and Hamilton moved into second. Norris improved to take the lead. 12th place, as the track continued to progress.
Valtteri Bottas did no better than 19th, Magnussen moved up to tenth place. Gasly set the 13th fastest time, as several of his rivals improved. Zhou did no better than 16th, beaten by Piastri who did not qualify.
Sargeant also failed to progress, as Ocon took third fastest. Russell improved further and moved up to second, while Stroll took sixth. Leclerc made a mistake on his last lap but still went through to Q2.
Piastri, Zhou, Sargeant, Bottas and Pérez were eliminated.
Q2 – 15 minutes
All drivers were out again immediately except for the Mercedes and Alpines as the skies began to clear over Melbourne and Albert Park.
Alonso took the lead in 1’17″681, while the Ferrari drivers continued a second lap of preparation. Stroll beat his teammate by 0″065, in 1’17″616.
Verstappen went wide at the first corner, and a lot of drivers were doing a second lap of preparation. It paid off for Leclerc who took the best time in 1’17″560. Sainz took fourth place, 0″183 behind his teammate.
Hülkenberg grabbed third position, sandwiching himself between the Aston Martins. Verstappen completed his first lap in first place, in 1’17″219.
Alonso improved to come back to within 0″064 of Verstappen. The Spaniard chose not to put on a second set of tyres, preferring to keep two new sets for Q3. Russell set the seventh fastest time, immediately outpaced by his team-mate. Norris made a mistake and visited the third turn gravel pit.
The Alpine drivers saved tires for Q3 and the race, only leaving halfway through this Q2. A risky tactic in the event of a red flag, but which could pay off for the rest of the weekend, as the A523 seems so efficient.
Albon and Tsunoda slipped into the top 10 tentatively, and Sainz moved up to sixth. Ocon signed the eighth time, and Gasly the 12th, insufficient to qualify. Verstappen improved in 1’17″056.
Norris improved but only set the tenth fastest time, with another error on the track, and Ocon failed to improve. Gasly meanwhile took tenth place and provisionally eliminated Norris. Albon improved to ninth, knocking Gasly out of the top 10.
Hülkenberg was in a solid sixth place but still attempted a new time, as did Magnussen, who was far from his teammate. De Vries moved up two positions overtaking Tsunoda and Magnussen.
Gasly took the fourth time, and Hülkenberg placed his Haas in third position! De Vries did not improve, unlike Sainz, who grabbed third position. Tsunoda moved up to 12th place.
Russell and Hamilton placed fifth and sixth, and Leclerc moved up to fourth. Norris did not improve enough, with the 13th time. Albon made a mistake but remains in the top 10.
The eliminated were Ocon, Tsunoda, Norris, Magnussen and De Vries.
Q3 – 12 minutes
The sky was again threatening above the circuit, which prompted Verstappen, the Ferraris, Alonso and the Mercedes to set off quickly. Hülkenberg also took to the track, while at Ferrari, rain was announced for the last 3 or 4 minutes of the session.
Verstappen made a small mistake but set a time of 1’17.578 from the start. Alonso opted for a second warm-up lap, unlike Hulkenberg, who was immediately on a fast lap but struggled to control his Haas .
The German set a time of 1’18.046, just four tenths off provisional pole, which is a decent time even though Verstappen’s lap wasn’t the cleanest.
Alonso was able to take advantage of this average lap from Verstappen to set the fastest time in 1’17 “303. Leclerc grabbed second time, and Sainz improved ahead of Leclerc. Russell took second time, but it was Hamilton who had the best time in 1’17″271!
Gasly set the seventh fastest time, while Albon improved on the second sector and set the seventh fastest time. Verstappen jumped right back into another fast lap in case the rain came.
Verstappen improved and regained provisional pole position by just 9 thousandths of a second! His time of 1’17.262 allowed him to take the lead, while the rain was three minutes from the circuit according to Ferrari.
The Scuderia drivers quickly got out on track to ride before the rain. Stroll finished his time lap 0.301 behind Verstappen, already relegating him to seventh place.
Verstappen complained of poor feeling when downshifting, which could also be the problem that precipitated Pérez’s exit. This is clearly the Achilles heel of this RB19 at the moment.
Leclerc immediately attempted a fast lap as Sainz followed up with a fast second lap, even if it meant risking encountering rain. Leclerc was behind in the second sector.
| Pos. | Pilot | Car | Q1 time | Temps Q2 | Q3 time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB19 | 1:17.384 | 1:17.056 | |
| 02 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR23 | 1:17.832 | 1:17.283 | |
| 03 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari SF-23 | 1:17.928 | 1:17.349 | |
| 04 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari SF-23 | 1:18.218 | 1:17.390 | |
| 05 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas Ferrari VF-23 | 1:18.029 | 1:17.412 | |
| 06 | George Russell | Mercedes W14 | 1:17.654 | 1:17.513 | |
| 07 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W14 | 1:17.689 | 1:17.551 | |
| 08 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault A523 | 1:18.312 | 1:17.574 | |
| 09 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR23 | 1:17.873 | 1:17.616 | |
| 10 | Alex Albon | Williams Mercedes FW45 | 1:17.962 | 1:17.761 | |
| — | —————- | ————— | ———- | ———- | ———- |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault A523 | 1:17.770 | 1:17.768 | |
| 12 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri Honda RBPT AT04 | 1:18.471 | 1:18.099 | |
| 13 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes MCL60 | 1:18.243 | 1:18.119 | |
| 14 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari VF-23 | 1:18.159 | 1:18.129 | |
| 15 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri Honda RBPT AT04 | 1:18.450 | 1:18.335 | |
| — | —————- | ————— | ———- | ———- | ———- |
| 16 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes MCL60 | 1:18.517 | ||
| 17 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo Ferrari C43 | 1:18.540 | ||
| 18 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Mercedes FW45 | 1:18.557 | ||
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo Ferrari C43 | 1:18.714 | ||
| 20 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB19 | – :—.— |