Max Verstappen successfully defended against Carlos Sainz’s strong comeback, preserving his flawless start to the season during qualifying at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
However, it was another day of frustration for Lewis Hamilton, who did not advance to Q3 in his Mercedes, resulting in an 11th-place start for Sunday’s race. This marks his lowest starting position at Melbourne in 14 years.
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Verstappen secured his third consecutive pole position of the season, but not without a challenge from Ferrari’s Sainz, who made a notable return only two weeks after undergoing appendix surgery that sidelined him for the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP.
Sergio Perez, initially securing third in the second Red Bull, was demoted to sixth by the stewards in Melbourne for obstructing Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg during Q1, promoting McLaren’s Lando Norris to third on the grid.
Sainz led the initial two rounds of qualifying, with Ferrari also showing strength in Q2 with Charles Leclerc. However, Verstappen showed new pace in his RB20, delivering two laps in the final Q3 session that solidified his pole position.
Verstappen clinched pole with a time of 1:15.915, outpacing Sainz by 0.270 seconds.
Fifth-place Leclerc, who withdrew from his final Q3 run, and Australia’s Oscar Piastri, initially the sixth-fastest in the other McLaren, each moved up due to Perez’s penalty.
For the first time since the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix last October, Charles Leclerc will not qualify on the front row. Instead, he will opt to return to the pits rather than finish his final lap after a minor error at Turn Three. He acknowledged that the SF-24 was challenging to handle. Leclerc noted that a “very aggressive” adjustment to the front wing for his last Q3 effort did not improve the situation.
Australian GP Qualifying Results
2024 Australian Grand Prix, 23 March 2024
**Logan Sargeant will no longer feature in the race weekend, with Alexander Albon using his chassis after he suffered a crash in FP1, damaging his own car beyond repair.
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