F1 Australian Grand Prix 2023: Max Verstappen secures poll, Mercedes stuns with second and third in qualifying
Mercedes is dreaming of an Australian Grand Prix boilover after Lewis Hamilton and George Russell came closest to denying Max Verstappen his first Albert Park pole in qualifying.
F1
Don't miss out on the headlines from F1. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Red Bull star Max Verstappen has put himself in pole position to hunt his first Australian Grand Prix victory at Albert Park on Sunday as an enlivened Mercedes pair prepare a two-pronged assault against the world champion.
As his teammate Sergio Perez endured a Saturday shocker and will start from the grid for Sunday’s race, Verstappen claimed his first pole at Albert Park after dominating qualifying.
The Dutch star set the pace throughout the qualifying session to put himself at the front of the grid ahead of a surprised Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
Aston Martin veteran Fernando Alonso and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz rounded out the top five for Sunday’s race.
Last year’s winner, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, was seventh fastest in qualifying, while there was heartbreak for McLaren’s Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, who bombed out in Q1 in his Albert Park debut and will start from 16th on the grid.
Verstappen will be aiming for his first win at the Australian Grand Prix, which is only one of three tracks on this year’s F1 calendar the Dutchman is yet to taste victory at.
Albert Park has not been a successful hunting ground for Red Bull, which has not won at the Melbourne circuit since 2011, while Verstappen has only finished on the podium once at Albert Park when he was third in 2019.
The world champion expected tomorrow’s race to be a battle of tyre attrition, but he was fully focused on putting his Red Bull on the top step.
“All weekend it has been very tough to get the tyres in the right window to push straight away, but it all worked out,” Verstappen said.
“I am very happy with the lap and of course very happy to be on pole position. I am really looking forward to tomorrow.
“I think (Sunday) we will have a good race car, but it is quite tricky on the tyres to keep them alive so it will be an interesting race for sure.
“I have been on the podium once (at Albert Park), but I want to be on a different step this time.”
While Verstappen’s Red Bull pole position was hardly a shock after his team’s dominant start to the season, the vastly improved performance of the two Mercedes behind him was.
Russell and Hamilton both admitted they were surprised to finish in the top three in qualifying after the team’s form struggles in the opening two races.
The best result of either Mercedes so far this year was Russell’s fourth place in the last race in Saudi Arabia.
While he acknowledged the pace of Verstappen’s Red Bull would be hard to beat, Russell said the Mercedes pair just had to “go for the win”.
“There is a surprise, there is no doubt about it,” Russell said.
“We have got to go for it, haven’t we? We’ve got to go for the win.
“Max is going to be fast, there is no hiding that. I think it is difficult to overtake around this circuit, so the start on lap one is going to be vital.
“The Red Bull has extraordinary top speed, so it is going to be very difficult to fight with Max so let’s see how we get on. If the opportunity is there we will go for it.
“This (qualifying) result today is going to give us a huge amount of confidence regardless of what (Sunday) brings over the course of the next four weeks because if we can deliver a performance like this with a car that is definitely quite a bit off the pace shows good promise for when we bring our first upgrade.”
With Perez left to fight from the back of the field after bombing out in the first five minutes of Q1 when he ran his car off the track into the gravel, Hamilton suggested the Mercedes pair could use strategy to their advantage.
“Everything came together today, it feels amazing to be up here, either side of Max.
“And we hope that tomorrow we can somehow hold on to him and he doesn’t fly away into the distance like he has in the past, but we will give it our best shot.
“Maybe the fact that there are two of us and only one Red Bull, maybe with strategy, maybe we can apply some pressure to them.”
Russell said it was going to be hard for Perez to push himself to the front of the field.
“I think it will be challenging around here,” Russell said.
“For sure he will come through to the top-10, but I don’t think at a circuit like this you would be able to fight it towards the front.”
Verstappen holds a one-point lead in the Formula One championship ahead of Perez after the latter’s last-start win in Saudi Arabia.
SATURDAY LIVE
6.15PM KOSTECKI TAKES OUT SUPERCARS RACE
Brodie Kostecki has taken out the Saturday Supercars race at Albert Park, which was full of drama.
Several drivers came close to disaster in the pits as they jostled for every spot in the sprint.
5.30PM PIASTRI: I WAS A ‘LITTLE BIT SAFE’
Aussie Oscar Piastri has thanks the home crowd for its support but conceded his qualifying drive might have been too safe.
Piastri will start in 16th on the grid after narrowly missing out on a place in Qualifying 2.
Speaking to Channel 10, he said: “Firstly, nice to have the home crowd, I got a nice (applause) even with the results, so thank you everyone.
“But obviously is not my session I was looking for, maybe a little bit safe in places, it just makes a difference in a session like that.”
GEORGE: “What a session for us. The car felt aliveâ€
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 1, 2023
LEWIS: “To be this close to Red Bull is incredibleâ€#AusGP#F1pic.twitter.com/qbcfjn9idk
5.09PM VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE
Rebecca Williams
Red Bull star Max Verstappen has put himself in pole position to hunt his first Australian Grand Prix victory as his teammate endured a Saturday shocker at Albert Park.
While his teammate Sergio Perez will start from the back of the grid for Sunday’s race, Verstappen claimed his first pole at Albert Park after dominating qualifying.
The Dutch star set the pace throughout the qualifying session to put himself at the front of the grid ahead of Mercedes pair George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
Aston Martin veteran Fernando Alonso and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz rounded out the top five for Sunday’s race.
Last year’s winner, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, was seventh fastest in qualifying, while there was heartbreak for McLaren’s Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, who bombed out in Q1 in his Albert Park debut and will start from 16th on the grid.
Verstappen will be aiming for his first win at the Australian Grand Prix, which is only one of three tracks on this year’s F1 calendar the Dutchman is yet to taste victory at.
Albert Park has not been a successful hunting ground for Red Bull, which has not won at the Melbourne circuit since 2011.
Verstappen has only finished on the podium once at the Australian Grand Prix when he was third in 2019.
While Verstappen prospered, it was a different story for his teammate Perez, who became an early qualifying casualty after running his car off the track in the opening five minutes.
In a Q1 shock, Perez speared off into the gravel at turn three after locking up the front brakes entering the corner.
Perez was blunt when explaining the issue to the team over the radio.
“We need to sort that issue man, it’s the same ****ing issue again,” Perez barked over the team radio.
It continued a Saturday shocker for Perez, who had earlier struggled to come to grips with his car in final practice.
After a tough start to the season for Mercedes, Russell shouted “not too shabby” after he qualified in second place behind Verstappen for Sunday’s race.
It was the third time this year Russell had out-qualified his seven-time world champion teammate Hamilton.
Verstappen holds a one-point lead in the Formula One championship ahead of Perez after the latter’s last-start win in Saudi Arabia.
HOW THE DRIVERS REACTED:
VERSTAPPEN: “I think the last one was very good, the whole weekend has been very tough to get the ties of the right wing though, but it all worked out. So a very happy with the lap. And very happy to be in pole position, and really looking forward to tomorrow.
Obviously the bird, hopefully they did not happen, but it happens sometimes on the streets, I think tomorrow will have a good race car, but again it is quite tricky other ties to keep them alive. It will be an interesting race for sure.
I have been of the podium once but I want to be in a different step.”
RUSSELL: “We were not expecting that, that is for sure. There was a lot of hard work going on back of the factory here in Melbourne, but what a session for muscle. The car felt alive, the lap of the it was right in the end, I’ll be honest I was a little bit disappointed we did not get pole position.
We have got to understand that you have good days and bad days, but we will take it, we are excited for tomorrow.
HAMILTON: “To be this close to Red Bull’s incredible. I hope tomorrow we can give them a bit of a run for their money, I hope the weather is good.”
DAMON HILL ON MERCEDES: “Where did these Mercedes come from?That was not on the script.”
4.57PM TOP 10 SHOOTOUT UNDERWAY
Who will take pole position?
Max Verstappen answers back with the fastest time on his second lap after Lewis Hamilton has the quickest time for about 90 seconds.
Fernando Alonso is third.
Commentator Damon Hill says: “I think the rest are sniffing blood”. Verstappen is reportedly having downshift issues.
Into the Top 10 shootout 👊 Max is fastest in Q2 💪 #AusGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/NI2NTQ4Zyr
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) April 1, 2023
4.50PM QUALIFYING 2 RESULTS
Alex Albon scrapes into qualifying 3 by 0.007 of a second! What a close finish.
Horrible result for McLaren, which is one of only two teams without a car in qualifying 3.
Alpha Taurus is the other.
Nico Hulkenberg is one of the talking points out of that session after posting the fifth fastest lap time for Haas. What a drive.
Both Alpha Tauri’s out along with Ocon, Magnussen and Norris.
— Ashley Woodhouse (@AshWoody90) April 1, 2023
Kevin and Lando will be very disappointed! Norris in particular. #AusGP 🇦🇺 #F1https://t.co/yGsxtBU2cL
4.35PM RAIN PREDICTED FOR Q3
The clouds are circling at Albert Park and there is rain predicted for the third qualifying session. The second session is currently underway when 10 cars will progress. It could be a chaotic finish to qualifying if the heavens open up.
4.27PM PIASTRI OUT!
Oscar Piastri has finished in the elimination zone by 0.046 of a second. What a disaster for the home crowd favourite.
He will start from 16th on the grid.
So close for Oscar, but the home hero is out in Q1
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 1, 2023
⌠ELIMINATED IN Q1 âŒ
Piastri
Zhou
Sargeant
Bottas
Perez#AusGP#F1pic.twitter.com/AXjp06sYS4
4.22PM RECORD SATURDAY CROWD
A record crowd for a Saturday at the Australian GP is packed into Albert Park.
There is an estimated 129,748 watching on, about 6000 more than last year.
4.06PM PEREZ STUCK, SESSION RED FLAGGED
Red Bull star Sergio Perez became an early casualty in Formula One qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix after running off the track in the opening five minutes.
In an early Q1 shock, Perez ran off the track into the gravel at turn three after locking up the front brakes entering the corner.
It was the same turn that caused Perez grief in the earlier Saturday practice session.
Perez was blunt when explaining the issue to the team over the radio.
“We need to sort that issue man, it’s the same ****ing issue again,” Perez barked over the team radio.
Perez sits second in the championship standings, just one point behind teammate Max Verstappen, after winning the last race in Saudi Arabia.
The qualifying session was halted while Perez’s car was cleared away from the track.
Sergio Perez. Oof. That's the same place as the practice sessions! #F1#AusGp
— Ankur Pramod (@AnkurPramod) April 1, 2023
3.45PM QUALIFYING COMING UP
Who will make a Saturday statement at Albert Park?
Qualifying is sure to deliver plenty of talking points — it starts in about 10 minutes.
Damon Hill tells Channel 10: “...Qualifying, you have to lay it on the line. But one lap, that is all you need. It requires 100% concentration. You cannot make a single mistake. You make a tiny mistake and you are going to be beaten, either by your teammate or by the others.”
Hill says he expects drivers to be anxious and that there could be a “flurry” of tyre changes early in qualifying as “treacherous” conditions await.
Most drivers will start on dry but rain is again falling at the track.
3.15PM FORMULA 2 RESULT
Norweigian driver Dennis Hauger has taken out the Formula 2 race.
Hauger qualified 10th but mastered the tricky conditions to prevail for the first time this season.
Jak Crawford was second and Kush Maini third.
SPRINT POINTS 📈
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) April 1, 2023
Our top eight taking home the good stuff on Saturday
Full classification here 👉 https://t.co/qLgyAl7LUL#AusGP#F2pic.twitter.com/3LHelZRo9b
3.10PM: PIASTRI REPRIMANDED
Rebecca Williams
Australian young gun Oscar Piastri has received his first reprimand in Formula One for a practice start infringement after a moment of “lost concentration”.
The McLaren rookie was summoned to the FIA stewards after the final Formula One practice session before qualifying on Saturday after failing to follow the race director’s instructions in relation to the practice start procedure.
The FIA stewards summary said Piastri had “lost concentration” at the end of the practice session when he was preparing to perform a practice start, but had attempted it a “lap too early”, failing to take the chequered flag before doing so.
Piastri admitted his mistake and that it could have caused a “dangerous” situation on track, with the stewards imposing a reprimand on him.
It was Piastri’s first reprimand of the season.
“The driver admitted that he had lost concentration and was preparing to do a practice start but attempted it a lap too early, having failed to take the chequered flag before doing so,” the stewards summary said.
“After he slowed down considerably, the team warned him to complete the lap before attempting a practice start and therefore he did not go through the full practice start procedure.
“The driver candidly admitted his mistake and recognised that this could have resulted in a dangerous situation on the track.
In accordance with previous precedents for similar infringements, we imposed a reprimand on him.”
Piastri finished the final practice session in 14th position ahead of his first qualifying season at his Australian Grand Prix debut.
3PM: DOOHAN A DNF AFTER BEING CLIPPED
Aussie driver Jack Doohan has prompted a safety car after being clipped and spinning out during a chaotic lap in Saturday’s Formula 2 race.
Several cars spun out in wet conditions at Albert Park before the safety car was sent onto the track.
Doohan’s car had to be removed from the track.
MORE TO COME
SAFETY CAR (LAP 14/22)
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) April 1, 2023
Jack Doohan gets a tap from behind and spins into retirement ðŸ˜
The Safety Car comes out to pick up the leaders#AusGP#F2pic.twitter.com/saa6H4zaKt
Home race for Jack Doohan, but the Australian driver DNF in the Sprint Race.
— Scherazade (@ScherazadeMS) April 1, 2023
Pain. pic.twitter.com/QbcyZrKdCm
Jack Doohan getting a real taste of the ✨ home race curse ✨
— F1 Updates (@paddock2go) April 1, 2023
MOTHER NATURE, MECHANICAL WOES CAUSING CHAOS
Pick a pole-sitter at your own peril.
We could be on for a doozy Down Under.
Mother Nature and mechanical woes combined for another chaotic Formula One practice session as the world’s best drivers struggled to get a grip on the slippery Albert Park circuit.
Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso topped the timesheet in FP3 on Saturday but their teammates both struggled to match that pace, with more questions than answers raised ahead of this afternoon’s crucial qualifying session.
Last-start race winner Sergio Perez had a session to forget. He started in the garage as the team tinkered with its set-up and he struggled to put together a quality lap, seemingly lacking confidence in his car.
‘Checo’ finished the session more than half a second behind his teammate Verstappen.
Meanwhile the cautious optimism for Ferrari this weekend was scuppered slightly with neither Carlos Sainz (P7) or Charles Leclerc (P13) showing great pace.
Both Leclerc and Sainz found themselves in the gravel over the hour-long session — Ferrari left with plenty of work to do to get their cars in a window for qualifying success this afternoon.
Oscar Piastri posted a time 1.2 seconds slower than Verstappen’s benchmark, landing in P14 at the end of the session.
The 21-year-old was also cautioned by race stewards for a practice start infringement at the end of the session.
His McLaren teammate Lando Norris was the slowest in FP3, another four-tenths back from the rookie Aussie.
Qualifying begins at 4pm local time.
Red Bulls desperate for dry to reassert dominance
Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are desperate for the showers to stay away during the final practice session after Spanish champion Fernando Alonso outgunned them in the slippery conditions on Friday night.
Possible showers are forecast in the early afternoon with the next hour-long practice session scheduled for 12.30pm, but dry conditions are expected for crucial qualifying hitout at 5pm.
There was intermittent rain around the Melbourne CBD this morning, but conditions have improved significantly with a southerly 20khm breeze fanning the 5km circuit at Albert Park.
Alonso produced the fastest time during a wet session on Friday night, finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and world champion Max Verstappen, who was fastest in the opening dry practice session.
All eyes with be on Australia’s Oscar Piastri as he looks to improve on 14th place from Friday when he hit Albert Park for the first time.
‘Your Mum’ joke leaves F1 fans in stitches
Formula One team principal Guenther Steiner left fans in stitches after a brutal fan put-down. Thanks to Netflix’s Drive to Survive F1 series lifting a lid on the Italian, Haas team chief Steiner is known to be prone to angry tantrums as he much as he is a cheeky joke.
And during a Q&A session with fans ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, one young petrol head found himself on the receiving end of one of his jokes.
The young Aussie, named Noah, asked who was the better driver out of Haas duo Kevin Magnussen or Nico Hulkenberg.
Steiner then responded by saying: “Ask your mum.
“Who does she like better, you or your brother?”
The 57-year-old could not help but cast a wide grin after his comeback, with the crowd also left cheering and clapping the response.
TIP: Never ask a team principal which of his drivers are his favorite! 😄#HaasF1#AusGPpic.twitter.com/oyGtogEC3X
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 31, 2023
SUPERCARS: NIGHTMARE CONTINUES FOR REYNOLDS, SVG SHOCK
David Reynolds has dominated the Supercars qualifying narrative on Saturday morning but not in the way he would have liked.
The veteran’s nightmare Melbourne SuperSprint continued with the No. 26 Penrite Mustang ruled out of both sessions.
In eerily similar circumstances to Friday’s race, Reynolds found himself in the gravel at turn one, bringing an early end to the early qualifying session and catching the field out.
That handed Erebus a Race 5 front-row lockout with Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown banking the two fastest times before Reynolds’ roll-off brought out the red flag.
Read the full report from qualifying here.
‘RIDICULOUS’ DECISION WILL TRASH F1 CARS
Christian Horner has slammed F1’s decision to hold a sprint race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as “ludicrous”.
The street track has been selected as one of F1’s six short races on a Saturday, which are used to determine the grid.
However, the fast nature of the track and close walls with little run off area, leads Horner to fear that teams will “trash” their cars.
Red Bull were penalised for breaking the cost cap last year and big damage in Baku could cause another headache.
He said: “It’s absolutely ludicrous to be doing the first sprint race of the year in a street race like Azerbaijan.
“From a spectacle point of view – a fan point of view – it’s probably going to be one of the most exciting sprint races of the year.
“But from a cost cap perspective, all you can do is trash your car. And it costs a lot of money [in repairs if you crash] around there.
“One race is enough in Baku.”
McLaren boss Zak Brown agreed with Horner’s concerns as the parts bill comes out of the team’s budget, which is capped at $205 million this season.
He added: “Anytime we go to a street circuit – Baku creates pretty exciting races – some pretty big crash damage bills.
“It’ll be very exciting for the fans and hopefully, all the cars will come back the way they started.”
The Azerbaijan GP is set to take place at the end of April.
SURPRISE FUNDING SOURCE FOR F1’S SEXUAL REVOLUTION
Red Bull chief Christian Horner said Friday it was inevitable that gender equality would reach Formula One amid reports that a team employing an equal split between men and women was looking to enter the sport.
Former British American Racing (BAR) founder Craig Pollock told CNN last week he wanted to debut “Formula Equal” from the 2025 or 2026 season onwards.
The aim was to have a 50 per cent split between males and females across the whole organisation, from the cockpit to the engineers and the boardroom.
He has reportedly submitted an expression of interest to racing’s governing body, the FIA, which opened up the process for finding a potential 11th team earlier this year.
Horner, when asked about Pollock’s plan, said he believed gender equality in the traditionally male-dominated sport would happen “naturally” anyway.
“I think it’s fantastic to see the amount of girls, females, that are showing interest in Formula One now and we’re seeing it at all levels,” the Briton said in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
“I think the interest is growing … it’s appealing to more women to get involved in the sport, whether that’s from an engineering basis or across all aspects of the organisation.
“As the sport does become more accessible, and we are pushing to make it more accessible, I think that it is something that will naturally happen anyway.” Pollock, formerly the manager of 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve, acknowledged funding such a venture would be hugely expensive but said he was in intense discussions with “a Gulf-area country” about bankrolling it.
CALL FOR HUGE SHIFT TO REVOLUTIONISE AUSSIE GP
The Australian Grand Prix becoming a night race has been endorsed by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali who also wants the blockbuster event returned to the season curtain raiser.
With the F1 race secured to remain in Melbourne until 2035 despite efforts from Sydney to steal, Domenicali has confirmed talks are underway about Albert Park becoming one of seven night races on the calendar.
Melbourne billionaire and Australian Grand Prix chairman Paul Little said he hoped the event could be staged under lights by 2030 but flagged that significant investment would e needed.
Victorian taxpayers are estimated to have spent a record $78.1 million to host Melbourne’s 2022 Grand Prix.
“I’d love to not rule out a night Grand Prix,” Little said.
“I just think if we could make that work, that would be amazing and also great for reaching the rest of the F1 audience.
“There is no question more people would watch it if they could see it live at a reasonable hour on the other side of the world.
“So I think we will continue to explore the viability and the capability of doing that.”
Aussie F1 rookie Oscar Piastri has endorsed the idea but flagged a significant increase in work absentees on a Monday.
“It definitely adds something a bit different,’’ he said.
“I don’t know if there would be too many happy people going to work on a Monday morning.
“But from a commercial perspective and it would obviously make a lot of sense.’’
Neurosurgeon dashes Schumacher hopes
A sad update on Michael Schumacher’s condition has dropped just days after wedding rumours that gave the world hope.
NRL nightmare: F1 stars chased to steal Sydney thunder
The biggest names in world motorsport will be offered a chance to drive in a revolutionary racing event in Sydney, inadvertently leaving the NRL with a major headache at the start of the season.