Leclerc beats Verstappen in Australian qualifying

Charles Leclerc managed to grab the pole position in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver managed to trump his teammate and the Red Bulls by a fairly wide margin. Verstappen finished in second place, ahead of teammate Sergio Perez. Carlos Sainz was not able to get into the race.

Q1

For the Ferrari's and Red Bull's men, the first qualifying session is, as expected, not a big problem. In the first runs Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz and Perez manage to drive to the first four positions with ease. Once again it promisd to be a battle between the Italian and Austrian racing teams. Alpine and McLaren are also making a good impression, as is Valtteri Bottas.

Both the Aston Martins are again struggling in Melbourne. Sebastian Vettel doesn't even seem to be able to get into action after a gearbox change, but a red flag caused by teammate Lance Stroll offers relief. The four-time world champion manages one flying lap, but enough for a spot in Q2 it is not.

Back to Stroll, as the Canadian provides an early exit for countryman Nicholas Latifi. With two minutes left on the clock, the still pointless Aston Martin driver causes a nice scramble. Latifi wants to pass Stroll on the straight, but suddenly the latter steers to the right. Latifi becomes a passenger of his own car and ends up in the wall.

In the last two minutes, it's almost a race to get over start-finish in time to set a time. Stroll, Latifi, Sebastian Vettel, Kevin Magnussen and Alexander Albon are the five drivers who do not manage to make it to Q2. Driving back to the pit lane, Albon still has to put his Williams on the side due to apparent engine problems.

Q2

The second qualifying session starts with some delay. Verstappen and Perez are faster than the Ferrari's in their first run, but the Mexican does get looked at by race control for possibly not slowing down enough during a yellow flag. Leclerc and Sainz have to add a second run to be assured of Q3, but in the second run the men from Maranello are smooth enough.

Mick Schumacher, Guanyu Zhou, Yuki Tsunoda, Valtteri Bottas and Pierre Gasly don't manage to go around Albert Park fast enough. As a result, both AlphaTauri's and Alfa Romeo's are out of the race where two weeks ago they managed to reach Q3 with at least one car. For Bottas it also means an end to his record of reaching Q3. The Finnish driver had made it to the final qualifying stage at every attempt since 2016.

Q3

Verstappen is incredibly fast with two purple sectors in Q3, but in the last sector the Dutchman locks-up his brakes which ultimately prevents him from setting a great time. Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc are faster. Carlos Sainz is not, as he suffers from the red flag caused by Fernando Alonso. The Alpine driver ends up in the wall after problems with hydraulics.

Perez chooses a different strategy than Verstappen, Leclerc and Sainz in the resumption. The Mexican goes for multiple runs on the same compound. He is one thousandth slower than Leclerc in his first run.

Verstappen is a tenth faster in his second run, but in the end it is Leclerc who dips another three tenths below that. Perez in turn concedes a tenth to his teammate's time. Sainz disappoints with a ninth place. A big disappointment for the Madrid native. Lando Norris is best of the rest. Then follow the Mercedes, Ricciardo, Ocon, Sainz and Alonso.