Leclerc takes dramatic Australian GP pole after "dangerous" qualifying
Leclerc takes dramatic Australian GP pole after "dangerous" qualifying
Charles Leclerc took pole for the Australian Grand Prix after a dramatic and heavily disrupted qualifying session.
The Ferrari driver set a lap time of one minute 17.868secs, almost three tenths faster than Max Verstappen for Red Bull.
Sergio Perez qualified third fastest but faces a trip to the stewards for failing to obey yellow flags as drivers struggled with the setting sun in Melbourne.
Complaints about the low sun ahead of Q3 came in a flurry with some asking for new helmets with darker visors and others, like Verstappen, adding tape to his original visor.
Leclerc labelled the conditions as "dangerous" over team radio, such was the glare from the sun.
The lateness of the finish was caused by a red flag delay following a collision between Nicholas Latifi and Lance Stroll before Alex Albon broke down on track after Q1 had finished.
There was a further delay when Fernando Alonso crashed out in Q3 when on a stunning lap with the Spaniard setting the fastest middle sector of the session.
The Alpine slid wide at turn 11 and skirted across the gravel before hitting the barrier, with Alonso citing hydraulic issues as the cause over team radio.
The timing of the red flag was an inconvenience for Sainz, who failed to complete his lap by a matter of metres, setting the Ferrari driver back for the final five minutes of the session. He eventually finished only ninth.
Verstappen had been on a storming lap at the beginning of Q1 but locked up into the penultimate corner and losing time.
McLaren returned to form in front of Daniel Ricciardo's home crowd, with the Australian qualifying seventh, behind of team-mate Lando Norris, who finished an impressive fourth.
Mercedes managed to get both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell into the final session and whilst the W13 remained well off the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari, the seven-time champion ended fifth, ahead of his team-mate in sixth.
Esteban Ocon finished eighth as Alpine squandered what at one stage looked a much more promising qualifying session.
Bottas' stellar streak comes to an end
Valtteri Bottas entered the weekend hoping to extend his streak for consecutive Q3 appearances to 104 races, with only Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost having qualified in the top 10 more times in succession.
But the Alfa Romeo driver was unable to reach the final part of qualifying despite showing strong pace throughout the weekend.
The Finn was joined by team-mate Guanyu Zhou, both AlphaTauris and Mick Schumacher in missing out on the top 10, with Yuki Tsunoda running wide at turn 11 on his final lap.
Latifi and Stroll in bizarre collision
Latifi and Stroll ended their days early with a bizarre collision with two minutes left in Q1.
The Williams driver let his compatriot through before turn five before the Aston Martin immediately slowed. With Latifi keen to get back around for another lap, he attempted to get back past Stroll, only for the pair to come together.
There was a subsequent red flag to recover both cars and the mass of debris on the circuit.
The damage was especially costly to Williams given Latifi's qualifying incident in Saudi Arabia last time out, whilst the collision came just moments after Stroll had taken to the track having had his AMR22 repaired following a crash in final practice.
Latifi's team-mate Albon was eliminated with the 16th quickest time but stopped by the side of the circuit after the end of the session.
He was joined in the drop by Sebastian Vettel - who was only able to take to the track because of the red flag delay following repairs to his own Aston Martin - and Kevin Magnussen for Haas.
Australian Grand Prix qualifying results
1. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari] 1.17.868s
2. Max Verstappen [Red Bull] 1.18.154
3. Sergio Perez [Red Bull] 1.18.240
4. Lando Norris [McLaren] 1:18.703
5. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes] 1.18.825
6. George Russell [Mercedes] 1.18.933
7. Daniel Ricciardo [McLaren] 1.19.032
8. Esteban Ocon [Alpine] 1.19.061
9. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari] 1.19.408
10. Fernando Alonso [Alpine] no time
Eliminated Q2
11. Pierre Gasly [AlphaTauri] 1.19.580
12. Valtteri Bottas [Alfa Romeo] 1.19.251
13. Yuki Tsunoda [AlphaTauri] 1.19.742
14. Zhou Guanyu [Alfa Romeo] 1.19.910
15. Mick Schumacher [Haas] 1.20.104
Eliminated Q1
16. Alex Albon [Williams] 1.20.135
17. Kevin Magnussen [Haas] 1:20.254
18. Sebastian Vettel [Aston Martin] 1.21.372
19. Nicholas Latifi [Williams] 1:21.372
20. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin] no time
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
EXCLUSIVE: Hamilton engineer reveals top drivers' key characteristic
- 19 minutes ago
Red Bull now pressured into MISTAKES insists F1 rivals as title race heats up
- 1 hour ago
F1 News Today: Vettel CONFIRMS stunning comeback as Red Bull boss issues Verstappen statement
- 1 hour ago
F1 fan celebrates Verstappen failure with OUTRAGEOUS permanent change
- 2 hours ago
Wolff opens up on WHY Mercedes are 'very bad'
- 3 hours ago
F1 winner Sainz shares RAW images from surgery and recovery
- Today 09:12
F1 Race Calendar
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
Carlos Sainz
- GP JAPAN 5 - 7 Apr
- GP CHINA 19 - 21 Apr
- GP USA 3 - 6 May
- GP ITALY 17 - 19 May
- GP MONACO 24 - 26 May
Related news
F1 pundit claims Mercedes HARSHLY treated by rivals
Kravitz attacked with CAKE in Ferrari celebrations
Perez makes HUGE Verstappen claim to give rivals title hope
'Stop driving like an IDIOT' - F1 champion slammed after spectacular incident
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860