Written by Maria Fashchevskaya
Lando Norris flew to his first pole position this season, usurping his teammate and home hero Oscar Piastri and World Champion Max Verstappen. Out of the rookie drivers, Isack Hadjar led the pack by qualifying in P11, as Oliver Bearman did not set a timed lap at all due to gearbox issues.
Lando Norris has started his season, sitting on pole for the Australian Grand Prix. Home hero Oscar Piastri finished qualifying under the roar of the crowd in second place, locking out the front row for McLaren.
They are followed by Max Verstappen and George Russell, respectively, as Yuki Tsunoda will start from P5. Alex Albon soared above both Ferraris in the top ten, as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will start in seventh and eighth position for the race. Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz rounded out the top ten, respectively.
Ahead of qualifying, it needed to be remembered that Oliver Bearman has had a big shunt in the first Free Practice session on Friday. He could not participate in FP2, as the team was busy repairing his car.
Thus, in FP3 on Saturday morning it has been crucial for the Brit to adapt to the car and circuit layout. However, Bearman did not complete the session, dipping a couple of wheels onto the grass under braking for Turn 11, causing a wild spin and leaving him stuck in the gravel trap.
Lets have a look at how the action unfolded in the first qualifying session this season, around Albert Park in Melbourne:
Q1
As the first session of qualifying went underway, the Haas drivers were the first to hit the track. Oliver Bearman came onto the team radio almost immediately, reporting issues with his gearbox.
Meanwhile, Jack Doohan in the Alpine was the first to set a time around Albert Park, with a time of 1:16.699s, as Nico Hulkenberg usurped him at the same time, being a couple tenths quicker.
Having a look at the top teams, Lando Norris was one of the firsts to set a timed lap, with a 1:16.003s on the clock. Maybe the Brit could have been even faster on his lap, but he hit the gravel in turn 6 with his right side tyres.
With 10 minutes to go in Q1, only Yuki Tsunoda, Isack Hadjar and Bearman did not set a timed lap in Melbourne yet. The drivers of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls (RB) were out on track, as Bearman in the Haas went back into the pits. His engineer confirmed a broken gearbox on the team radio, making the Brit to finish qualifying early.
With eight minutes to go, in the elimination zone were Stroll, Lawson, Antonelli, Ocon, and Bearman. On the edge of elimination was Nico Hulkenberg, too. Most of the drivers went out on soft tyres, however, the Mercedes drivers had medium compounds on.
Then Liam Lawson had a little moment, as he went off track and ran wide, almost hitting the barrier. He had work to do to escape Q1, as he was one of the drivers at risk.
Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli improved his lap time to 14th place, as the Italian could still be at risk of elimination. With four minutes to go, most of the drivers had been in the pits for a recharge.
Drivers that need to set a timed lap to not be eliminated were Gasly, Hulkenberg, Lawson and both Haas drivers, as Bortoleto in the other Kick Sauber car was at risk, too. There was no sign of Ocon or Bearman on track, as it was almost the end of Q1.
Liam Lawson was on a timed lap, however, could not finish it, going off track again in the chicane. The Kiwi went straight into the pits, marking the end of his qualifying. He would finish qualifying in 18th position.
In the last seconds of Q1, Gabriel Bortoleto finished his final running around track and went trough to Q2. He bumped Kimi Antonelli out of qualifying in the mean time.
Moreover, Bortoleto aced his teammate, as Hulkenberg dipped his car into the gravel, too. Antonelli has a moment at turn six, dipping his left side tyres into the sand, as he seemed to walk away with damage, just minutes before being bumped out of qualifying.
Knocked out: Antonelli, Hulkenberg, Lawson, Ocon, Bearman.
Q2
As the second part of qualifying went underway, Max Verstappen and both Ferrari drivers were one of the first to hit the track. The Dutchman was the first driver to have a flying lap, finishing it with a 1:15.688s on the board.
Charles Leclerc flew across the line just after him, however could not beat his time. Lewis Hamilton left around three tenths till the tim of the Red Bull driver.
With ten minutes to go, all drivers were out to set a timed lap. The most comfortable drivers in qualifying so far were the McLarens, as Piastri topped the board with a 1:15.468s on the clock and Norris
Fernando Alonso was on a flying lap, however, ran wide over the kerbs at turn 10 and dipped up dome gravel. "Check the floor," the Spaniard cried on the radio, as he pitted without setting a time. The same has happened to Carlos Sainz, as he drives for Williams this year.
With six minutes to go, the top four – Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, and Russell – sat in the pits, being sure of going through to the final part of qualifying. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton was on another flying lap, but could not improve immediately, sitting in sixth position for now.
As most of the drivers went back into the pits before a final running around the circuit, in the elimination zone were Hadjar, Stroll, Bortoleto, Alonso, and Doohan. With three minutes to go, huge traffic ensued in the pit lane, as everyone went out on a final run in Q2.
As Gabriel Bortoleto was at risk of elimination, the Brazilian was on flying lap, however not completing it. He almost lost car in turn three, ruining his timed lap. And then Hamilton spun!
Although he went through to Q3, he brought out yellow flags, making other drivers to drop their flying laps. Thus, Jack Doohan was knocked out of qualifying. The winner of this part of the session was Isack Hadjar in P11, making him the best rookie on the latter for tomorrow's race.
Knocked out: Hadjar, Alonso, Stroll, Doohan, Bortoleto.
Q3
In comparison to last year, a surprise came with Williams, as bothe drivers went through to the top ten. Race control noted an incident between Leclerc and Russell at turn four, when Russell might impeded Leclerc who was on a flying lap.
Just before the last running around Albert Park for today, McLaren CEO Zak Brown commented on their drivers: "They are happy - they are just refining their laps. Everything is under control so far."
The last bit of qualifying went underway, the McLaren drivers went out first, followed by Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. Home hero Oscar Piastri was the first to set a time in Q3, with a 1:16.147s on the clock. He hit the grass in the last corner and lost a couple of seconds in the process.
His teammate Lando Norris had a decent flying lap, however, his time was deleted due to track limits at turn four. With six minutes to go, Max Verstappen held the provisional pole position, with a time of 1:15.671s. He was followed by George Russell and Charles Leclerc.
But where is Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari? He sat in seventh place for now, leaving around six tenths to the leader on the board. With four minutes to go, all the drivers went out of the pits for the final running around the circuit in Melbourne.
Home hero Piastri led the drivers out, as he started his flying lap. Under the roar of his home crowd he flew to first position. A couple of seconds after him, teammate Norris flew across the finish line, usurping the Australian. The Brit sets the pole-time record at this track, with a 1m 15.096s.
Meanwhile Max Verstappen was on a flying lap, too. However, he had a mistake in the first sector, leaving him only in third place. George Russell finished his qualifying in fourth, ahead of surprise Q3-entry Yuki Tsunoda.
As qualifying ended, Alex Albon flew across the line, soaring past both Ferraris in the process. He settled in sixth position, followed by Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz rounded up the top ten, respectively.
Comments