Grand Prix of Australia – Qualifications: The Red Bulls at both ends of the time sheet!

Disappointment for Perez in Q1

The rain is expected during this qualifying session. As a result, many are rushing to make their first timed lap.

In this game, it’s Hülkenberg who claims the first best time, ahead of Albon, Magnussen, and Piastri.

The drivers quickly realize that with these very low temperatures in Australia, the first moments on the track are very slippery. Even after one or two flying laps, mistakes can happen quickly, as seen with Logan Sargeant, who spins at the end of a lap while improving on his teammate Albon’s time.

On the Red Bull side, Max Verstappen is struggling to maintain clean lines. It is at this moment that Sergio Perez makes an irreversible mistake. A heavy understeer in the turn holds him back in the gravel trap and causes a red flag. It’s already over for the Mexican who has to retire.

Second part of Q1: The Albon surprise

After a five-minute interruption, Max Verstappen quickly takes control of the session. His lap is not without errors, but it is enough for him to pass the German’s Haas by three tenths.

Everything is hectic at the end of the session behind the untouchable Dutch driver. The initial findings are shocking for Ferrari, who can’t do better than 5th and 9th (Sainz, Leclerc). Valtteri Bottas is also facing major difficulties and achieves the last time in this Q1. Both Alfa Romeo cars are eliminated.

Mercedes seems to be holding its own in these delicate conditions, just like Aston Martin, which is always well positioned at the beginning of the year. But the most impressive in this first part of the session is Alex Albon, who delivered great performances and ultimately raised his Williams to the th place.

Eliminated from Q1: Piastri, Zhou, Sargeant, Bottas, Perez.

Hülkenberg and Albon shine in Q2

Almost all drivers opt for a double warm-up lap for the start of this second qualifying session.

We see the Aston Martin and Ferrari cars fighting with similar lap times.

Despite a car that is inherently faster, Max Verstappen always finds himself in difficulty at certain corners. Particularly the first one, which results in his first lap being cancelled. But his second lap quickly puts him in the lead, six tenths ahead of Fernando Alonso.

The Alpines attack the lap time in a quirky way, starting from the middle of the session. However, the times are not encouraging. Our two French drivers seem to be struggling with understeer, especially in the final sequence, which puts them in difficulty to hope for a spot in Q3. Esteban Ocon is towards the end of the top 10, while Pierre Gasly finds himself a bit further back. The Toro Rossos, as well as the surviving McLaren of Norris, are really struggling and are unable to keep up with the Q3 group.

Everything falls into place in the last minute of this Q2: Hülkenberg achieves a spectacular time that puts him in 5th place. Alex Albon achieves the feat of lifting his Williams to 10th place.

Pierre Gasly regains the advantage over Esteban Ocon on his final attempt, which knocks the latter out of Q3.

Ferrari is also restructuring by placing Sainz and Leclerc in third and fourth place, behind a surprising Alonso, who finished second without making a second attempt.

Eliminated from Q2: Ocon, Tsunoda, Norris, Magnussen, de Vries.

Max Verstappen doesn’t give any chance to his opponents, Mercedes makes a comeback

After the first volley of timed laps, it’s Lewis Hamilton who sets the fastest time. He produces a top-notch performance just before Max Verstappen snatches away this first place from him by 9 milliseconds on his second attempt of the initial run.

Fernando Alonso is in third place, Russell fourth, both well positioned and lurking just a few tenths behind, while the Ferraris are slightly behind.

At the end of Q3, Max Verstappen finally unleashes the full potential of his Red Bull, being the only one to lap below 1:17. Behind, the two Mercedes cars secure the second and third positions with Russell and Hamilton. The silver arrows are back at the front and push Fernando Alonso down to fourth place. Pierre Gasly will start from ninth position.

Worry is growing at Ferrari. With a real lack of performance, Sainz and Leclerc can’t do any better than .

The result of the qualifying session for the 2023 Australian Grand Prix