Max Verstappen will start on pole at the Australian Grand Prix after he posted a blistering 1:15.915 in final qualifying on Saturday.
The Red Bull star had been jostling with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz throughout the session but Verstappen found the time when it mattered, ahead of Sainz in second and Sergio Perez in third.
Local hope Oscar Piastri will start from sixth in a positive result for McLaren.
In a minor shock, Lewis Hamilton, who has sat on pole eight times in Melbourne, was dropped right at the death of Q2 after a shuffle of places in the final few seconds. He’ll start P11 on Sunday.
While at the back of the grid, Aussie fan favourite Daniel Ricciardo will start from P18 after he was eliminated in Q1.
The Western Australian posted a time which was good enough for P10 right at the end of the session but was found to have breached track limits, seeing him drop out.
The Sporting News has all the qualifying results from the Australian Grand Prix below:
WATCH in US: F1 qualifying with fubo (free trial)
F1 grid, qualifying times for Australian Grand Prix
| Position | Driver | Team | Qual. time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:15.915 |
| 2 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:16.185 |
| 3 | Sergio Perez | Ferrari | 1:16.274 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:16.315 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:16.435 |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:16.572 |
| 7 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:16.724 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 1:16.788 |
| 9 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:17.072 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:17.552 |
| 11 | Lewis Hamilton* | Mercedes | 1:16.960 |
| 12 | Alex Albon* | Williams | 1:17.167 |
| 13 | Valtteri Bottas* | Kick Sauber | 1:17.340 |
| 14 | Kevin Magnussen* | Haas | 1:17.427 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon* | Alpine | 1:17.697 |
| 16 | Nico Hulkenberg** | Haas | 1:17.976 |
| 17 | Pierre Gasly** | Alpine | 1:17.982 |
| 18 | Daniel Ricciardo** | RB | 1:18.085 |
| 19 | Zhou Guanyu** | Kick Sauber | 1:18.188 |
| DNS | Logan Sargent | Williams | — |
Alex Albon's crash in FP1 saw his chassis destroyed. With no backup, Williams made the call to take Logan Sargent's chassis from him and give it to Albon, leaving the American without a car for the Grand Prix.
* Eliminated after Q2
** Eliminated after Q1
F1 Melbourne: Live updates from Australian Grand Prix qualifying
And that's it! Max Verstappen will start on pole after a flying 1:15.915 lap around Albert Park.
Q3, 7 mins to go: Sainz sets the pace early again but isn't as quick as his Q2 time. Verstappen nudges him off top spot with a 1:16.048
Start of Q3
Eliminated after Q2:
Lewis Hamilton
Alex Albon
Valtteri Bottas
Kevin Magnussen
Esteban Ocon
Q2, 3 mins to go: Sainz takes back top spot, still no movement in the elimination zone.
Q2, 6 mins to go: Ocon, Bottas, Magnussen, Tsunoda need to find something. Piastri with the third fastest lap so far
Q2, 11 mins to go: Verstappen has the edge over Sainz so far in Q2.
Start of Q2
Eliminated after Q1:
Nico Hulkenberg
Pierre Gasly
Daniel Ricciardo
Zhou Guanyu
End of Q1: Ricciardo with a clutch lap to stay alive in qualifying. Ocon follows suit to avoid the bottom four. But a dagger for Ricciardo. Penalised a lap time and drops to P18. For the first time in Melbourne, the Aussie goes out in Q1.
Q1, 3 mins to go: Albon puts together a sharp lap to get himself in the top five, Ricciardo in the danger zone now
Q1, 6 mins to go: Alonso sets the new mark with a 1:16.991 but Sainz takes it back with a .731. Ricciardo currently safe from Q1 elimination but not by much.
Q1, 11 mins to go: Ferrari looking good again as first Sainz and then Leclerc (1:17.244) post the new fastest times of the session. Piastri sits 6th after his first lap.
Q1, 12 mins to go: Max Verstappen posts the first solid time of the session, with a 1:17.478
Q1, 14 mins to go: Alex Albon has the first crack at a flying lap, posting a 1:18.709 but that won't count after he went wide on a turn.
Start of Q1: We're underway for qualifying!
10 mins to lights out: Moments away now, can Ferrari keep the momentum from FP3 going?
1 hour 45 mins to lights out: Here's the state of play following the final practice session.
FP3 CLASSIFICATION
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 23, 2024
Tight at the top in final practice 😮 Bring on quali! 🤩 #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/Ibd7MPZmOH
2 hours to lights out: Not long now until qualifying gets underway. We can expect moderate temperatures of around 18 degrees for the session, with no rain and light winds.
Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of the Australian Grand Prix qualifying session for 2024. Can anyone stop Max Verstappen from going back-to-back at Albert Park?
Melbourne F1 schedule: What time is qualifying in Australia?
| UK | USA | Canada | Australia | India | |
| Date | Saturday, Mar 23 | Saturday, Mar 23 | Saturday, Mar 23 | Saturday, Mar 23 | Saturday, Mar 23 |
| Time | 5 a.m. GMT | 1 a.m. ET | 1 a.m. ET | 4 p.m. AEDT | 10:30 a.m. IST |
Melbourne F1 schedule: What time is the Australian Grand Prix race?
| UK | USA | Canada | Australia | India | |
| Date | Saturday, Mar 23 | Saturday, Mar 23 | Saturday, Mar 23 | Saturday, Mar 23 | Saturday, Mar 23 |
| Time | 4 a.m. GMT | 12 a.m. ET | 12 a.m. ET | 3 p.m. AEDT | 9:30 a.m. IST |
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