F1 world championship leader Leclerc beat Max Verstappen to pole position in Australia with his final Q3 lap, a 1m17.868s, to claim top spot by 0.286s ahead of the Red Bull driver.
Leclerc was summoned to the stewards for driving too slowly back to the pits during Q1, the same accusation levied at Yuki Tsunoda and Zhou Guanyu, but was subsequently cleared with no further action taken against the Monegasque.
Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez claimed third place, while the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz Jr endured a "disaster" of a Q3 session and will start down in ninth. Sainz lost his first timed lap due to a red flag caused by a crash by Fernando Alonso and was then delayed in beginning his final run due to a starter issue, which resulted in rushed preparation for his last effort.
McLaren produced a return to form with Lando Norris taking fourth place in qualifying ahead of both Mercedes drivers. Remarking that the team had made no progress on its W13 car, Lewis Hamilton was fifth and George Russell in sixth, while home favourite Daniel Ricciardo missed out late on to drop to seventh.
After Alonso’s Turn 11 crash - caused by a hydraulic issue, which he believed cost him a chance of challenging for pole - relegated him to 10th place, Esteban Ocon led the Alpine efforts with eighth ahead of Sainz.
Nicholas Latifi and Lance Stroll clashed in Q1 of qualifying, resulting in the Aston Martin driver being handed a three-place grid penalty after being blamed for the crash having lost awareness of Latifi’s location on-track when both drivers were overtaking each other during out-laps.
It capped a terrible day for Aston Martin as both Stroll and Sebastian Vettel crashed heavily in final practice. Stroll’s collision with Latifi incidentally provided extra time for the team to fix Vettel’s car so he could set a lap time in Q1, but the German could only manage 18th – promoted up one spot to 17th on the starting grid due to Alex Albon’s own three-place grid penalty from the Saudi Arabian GP.
Albon was subsequently disqualified from qualifying regardless, having stopped on track on his way back to the pits and been unable to provide a one litre fuel sample.
When is the F1 Australian Grand Prix?
Date: Sunday 10th April 2022
Start time: 6:00am BST, 3:00pm local time
The third round of the 2022 F1 season, the Australian GP at Albert Park, gets underway at 3:00pm local time (6:00am BST) on Sunday 10th April.
How can I watch Formula 1?
In the United Kingdom, Formula 1 is only broadcast live on Sky Sports, with highlights shown on Channel 4 several hours after the race has finished. Live streaming through NOW is also available in the UK.
Sky Sports F1, which broadcasts the F1 races, can be added as part of the Sky Sports channels, which costs £20 a month for new customers. Sky Sports can also be accessed through NOW with a one-off day payment of £11.98 or a month membership of £33.99 per month.
Fans wanting to watch the race for free will have to wait until later on Saturday (qualifying) or Sunday (race) to see the highlights on Channel 4.
How can I watch the F1 Australian GP?
In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports will be live broadcasting the Australian GP, with the race shown live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event. Pre-race coverage will be starting on Sky Sports F1 at 4:30am BST ahead of the race start at 6:00am BST.
• Channels: Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event
• Start time: 6:00am BST, Sunday 10th April
Autosport will be running a live text coverage of the Australian GP here.
When can I watch the F1 Australian GP highlights?
In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of the Australian GP at 3:05pm BST on Sunday. The full programme will run for two hours and 30 minutes, covering the pre-race, the race highlights and the initial post-race reaction to wrap up the major talking points of the weekend.
For the entire 2022 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch-up services.
· Channel: Channel 4
· Start time: 3:05pm BST, Sunday 10th April
Will the F1 Australian GP be on the radio?
Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2022 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra stations, the BBC Sounds app and via the BBC Sport website.
Live coverage of the Australian GP will start at 5:45am BST on BBC Radio 5 Live and on the BBC Sounds app.
Weather forecast for the F1 Australian GP
Current weather forecasts predict hot, dry and sunny conditions at Albert Park, with a very low chance of rain during the race. The temperature is expected to be 27 degrees Celsius for the start of the race.
How many laps is the F1 Australian GP?
The race is scheduled to complete 58 laps of the Albert Park circuit, covering a total race distance of 306.124km.
F1 Australian GP starting grid
| Cla | Driver | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Charles Leclerc |  | |
| 2 |  Max Verstappen |  | 0.286 |
| 3 |  Sergio Perez |  | 0.372 |
| 4 |  Lando Norris |  | 0.835 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton |  | 0.957 |
| 6 | George Russell |  | 1.065 |
| 7 |  Daniel Ricciardo |  | 1.164 |
| 8 |  Esteban Ocon |  | 1.193 |
| 9 |  Carlos Sainz Jr |  | 1.540 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso |  | |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly |  | 1.358 |
| 12 |  Valtteri Bottas |  | 1.542 |
| 13 |  Yuki Tsunoda |  | 1.556 |
| 14 |  Zhou Guanyu |  | 2.287 |
| 15 |  Mick Schumacher |  | 2.597 |
| 16 |  Kevin Magnussen |  | 2.386 |
| 17 | Sebastian Vettel |  | 3.281 |
| 18 |  Nicholas Latifi |  | 3.504 |
| 19 |  Alex Albon |  | 2.267 |
| 20 | Lance Stroll | | |
| View full results | |||
