GP Qualifying: Verstappen surges to pole position for the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Sainz and Perez

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Max Verstappen took pole position in the qualifying session for the Australian Grand Prix, clocking an impressive lap time of 1m 15.915s. Verstappen outpaced Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, demonstrating his formidable pace.

Check out the results of the Australian Grand Prix weekend, including the race results, qualifying times, and practice sessions

Sainz, who returned to qualifying after an appendicitis surgery two weeks ago, managed to secure second place, trailing Verstappen by 0.270s. Perez claimed the third spot on the grid and will start alongside McLaren’s Lando Norris, who took fourth.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will begin in fifth after an abandoned final lap. Hometown favorite Oscar Piastri secured sixth, followed by Mercedes’ George Russell in seventh. Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri delivered a strong performance, placing eighth.

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top ten despite encountering challenges during their Q3 laps.

In a dramatic turn of events, Lewis Hamilton dropped to P11 after being pushed out of the top ten by a late run from Tsunoda. Hamilton will start alongside Alex Albon on the sixth row, with Albon using the chassis of teammate Logan Sargeant following a crash in Free Practice 1.

Valtteri Bottas will start from P13, followed by Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in P14. Esteban Ocon secured P15 for Alpine despite a near-miss with the wall in Q1.

Nico Hulkenberg ended up P16 with Pierre Gasly in P17, though Gasly faces an investigation for a pit exit line breach. Local favorite Daniel Ricciardo endured a tough session, finishing in P18 after a lap time deletion. Zhou Guanyu will start from P19 as only 19 cars are participating due to Sargeant’s absence.

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