See the full results from the qualifying session at Melbourne's Albert Park for the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
A thrilling qualifying session at the fast and flowing Albert Park circuit. Here are the results of the session as Red Bull's Max Verstappen reacted to the pace shown by Ferrari throughout practice and qualifying to take pole position.
Qualifying Results – 2024 Australian GP (Melbourne)
Q3:
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was fastest on the first lap of Q3 with a time of 1:16.331, but was two-tenths off his fastest time in Q2. Despite this, Sainz remained faster than Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc by just a tenth of a second, with McLaren's Oscar Piastri third, much to the delight of the home crowd.
However, while Sainz was unable to improve his Q2 time, Verstappen set the fastest time of the weekend at 1:16.048, beating Sainz by almost three-tenths of a second.
Red Bull's Sergio Perez finished fourth, continuing the Red Bull vs. Ferrari battle seen in the first two parts of qualifying.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso failed to complete his first run after making a mistake at Turn 7 and going sideways on the gravel at high speed. He immediately returned to the pits and had his car checked.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, who opted to do his only flying lap during a lull between two runs for most of the top 10, was eighth fastest despite struggling with a big oversteer snap at Turn 9. was recorded, but attention was focused on what happened next. the last two minutes of the session.
Verstappen was the first of the front runners to start the final flying lap, followed by Perez, with Sainz and Leclerc close behind. Verstappen and Sainz competed for the fastest time in the sector, with Verstappen breaking into the 1:15 range with a time of 1:15.915, taking provisional pole.
Sainz was unable to dethrone Verstappen and took second place with a time of 1 minute 16.185 seconds, while Perez took third place with a time of 0.359 seconds slower than Verstappen. However, Perez was given a three-place grid penalty for blocking Nico Hulkenberg early in Q1, dropping the Mexican to sixth, with Norris, Leclerc and Piastri moving up.
Leclerc was unable to gain any time and abandoned his final flying lap, returning to the pits after making a mistake in the final sector. The disappointed Monegasque man settled for fifth on the grid as McLaren's Lando Norris finished fourth.
Oscar Piastri has received the most interest from Australia, finishing sixth ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and running backs Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:15.915
2. Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.270 3. Sergio Perez Red Bull +0.359 *3 grid penalties will be applied to the starting grid
4. Lando Norris McLaren +0.400 5. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.520
6. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.657
7. George Russell Mercedes +0.809
8. Hiroki Tsunoda RB +0.873
9. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.157
10th Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.637
Q2:
On the first run of Q2, Verstappen set the pace on used tires, going two-tenths of a second faster than Piastri, with Sainz leading on his first lap on new tires.
The pace increased to the low 1 minute 16 second range, and the Spaniard recorded a time of 1 minute 16.189 seconds against the red-marked Pirelli, leaving Leclerc in third place, about four-tenths behind.
Already outside the top 10, Williams was unable to get Albon to make the final run in the final minutes and was only able to maintain 12th place, 0.978 off the pace set by Sainz, dooming him to elimination.
Lewis Hamilton's late improvements were not enough to advance the Mercedes man into Q3, as both Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll moved into the top ten on their final runs. Hamilton clearly suffered from oversteer and understeer on his full flying lap, and the seven-time F1 world champion couldn't hide his disappointment as he asked if he had made it.
In addition to Hamilton and Albon, Valtteri Bottas finished 13th, Kevin Magnussen 14th and Esteban Ocon 15th.
Leclerc moved into second place in the final moments as he used his fresh tires to get behind Sainz and hold off Verstappen and Piastri to make it 1-2 for Ferrari.
1. Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:16.189
2. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.115
3. Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.198
4. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.412
5. Sergio Perez Red Bull +0.442
6. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.521
7. Lando Norris McLaren +0.561
8. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.591
9. Hiroki Tsunoda RB +0.602
10th George Russell Mercedes +0.712
11. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.771
12. Alex Albon Williams +0.978
13. Valtteri Bottas Sauber +1.151
14. Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.238 15. Esteban Ocon Alpen +1.508
Q1:
Following Williams' big decision on Friday, with Logan Sargent not taking part, the big question was whether a surprise would be ruled out, with just four cars needing to be knocked out.
The answer was yes to some extent. RB Daniel Ricciardo was ranked 18th. The home hero moved into the top ten on the final lap of Q1, relegating Magnussen, but Ricciardo's lap was immediately removed for exceeding the track limit.
Although he set a time of 1:17.466, a wide turn at Turn 5 put him back in the standings and knocked out one of the four drivers. This was the first time in his career that he missed out on qualifying for Q1.
With Ricciardo dropping out, Magnussen advanced to Q2 for the Danes, but the other Haas' Nico Hulkenberg joined Ricciardo on the sideline. Alpine's Pierre Gasly was also knocked out, while Sauber's Zhou Guanyu suffered front wing damage and was the slowest.
Gasly was also under investigation for allegedly crossing the pit lane exit line, which separates the race track from the pit lane, and was later given driving disciplinary action for the incident, ending the session under investigation.
In the Ferrari-Red Bull quartet, Sainz set the pace at the front with a time of 1 minute 16.731 seconds, ahead of Perez, Verstappen and Leclerc.
1. Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:16.731 2. Sergio Perez Red Bull +0.074 3. Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.088 4. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.253 5. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.260 6. George Russell Mercedes +0.331 7. Alex Albon Williams +0.399 8. Yuki Tsunoda RB +0.625 9. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.638 10. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.645 11. Lando Norris McLaren +0.699 12. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.768 13. Valtteri Bottas Sauber +0.812 14. Esteban Ocon Alpine +0.886 15. Kevin Magnussen Haas +0.978 16. Nico Hulkenberg Haas +1.245 17. Pierre Gasly Alpine + 1.251 18. Daniel Ricciardo RB +1.354 19. Zhou Guanyu Sauber +1.457
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