MELBOURNE, Australia — Charles Leclerc will start on pole for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix after edging out Red Bull teammates Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez during qualifying Saturday at Albert Park.
“I’m happy with my result today” Leclerc said. “This circuit is really tricky and I’ve always struggled here in the past. It may not have seemed like it this weekend because we’ve been quite fast, but I’ve done a lot of work to optimize my performance.”
In Q1, Verstappen and Perez led the way, with the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz right behind in third and fourth.
With two minutes remaining in Q1, an accident between Nicholas Latifi and Lance Stroll halted the session.
The top of the board shuffled in Q2 as Sergio Perez shot to the top of the time charts, with the Ferraris of Leclerc in Sainz overtaking Verstappen.
After a stellar drive in the first two rounds, Fernando Alonso’s luck ran out when he crashed his Alpine in turn 11 with seven minutes remaining in the third session.
Charles Leclerc went back and forth with Max Verstappen on top of the board, before laying down a 1:17.896 lap to secure pole.
“The team did a great job” Leclerc said. “We stayed calm at all times, despite red flags, yellow flags and traffic. The biggest limitation for me was the sun. It was low and at an inconvenient angle and it was almost impossible to see where I was in Q2 and most of Q3. I took a lot of risks and I’m glad that I managed to put together such a good lap in the end.”
Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz showed promise in the session, but was shuffled back to ninth after being as high as thirdin Q2.
Following the top three, McLaren’s Lando Norris finished fourth, with his teammate Daniel Ricciardo settling for seventh. The effort by McLaren would be their first Q3 appearance of the season.
The Mercedes drivers of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell found some pace in Q3, with Hamilton slotting just ahead of Russell on the grid in fifth.
Esteban Ocon led the Alpine to an eighth-place effort, after Fernando Alonso’s crash in Q3 sent him back to 10th.