Verstappen will start ahead of the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
Australian Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from Russell
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'16.732 | |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1'16.968 | 0.236 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'17.104 | 0.372 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'17.139 | 0.407 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1'17.270 | 0.538 |
| 6 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'17.308 | 0.576 |
| 7 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'17.369 | 0.637 |
| 8 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1'17.609 | 0.877 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 1'17.675 | 0.943 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1'17.735 | 1.003 |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1'17.768 | 1.036 |
| 12 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1'18.099 | 1.367 |
| 13 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'18.119 | 1.387 |
| 14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1'18.129 | 1.397 |
| 15 | 21 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1'18.335 | 1.603 |
| 16 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'18.517 | 1.785 |
| 17 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1'18.540 | 1.808 |
| 18 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams/Mercedes | 1'18.557 | 1.825 |
| 19 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1'18.714 | 1.982 |
| 20 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | - | - |
What happened in Australian Grand Prix Q1?
Nico Hulkenberg set the early pace for Haas at 1m18.373s when the red flag came out for Sergio Perez going off into the gravel in his Red Bull at Turn 3.
Verstappen grabbed top spot with a lap of 1m18.063s at the resumption, which he lowered to 1m17.469s and 1m17.384s, ending the session three tenths clear of the Mercedes pairing of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin).
Falling at the first hurdle were local hero Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo), Logan Sargeant (Williams, who spun early on), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) and Perez.
Australian Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Russell
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
1'17.384 | 245.539 | ||
| 2 |  George Russell |
 |
1'17.654 | 0.270 | 0.270 | 244.685 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
1'17.689 | 0.305 | 0.035 | 244.575 |
| 4 |  Esteban Ocon |
 |
1'17.770 | 0.386 | 0.081 | 244.320 |
| 5 |  Fernando Alonso |
 |
1'17.832 | 0.448 | 0.062 | 244.125 |
| 6 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
1'17.873 | 0.489 | 0.041 | 243.997 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz |
 |
1'17.928 | 0.544 | 0.055 | 243.825 |
| 8 |  Alex Albon |
 |
1'17.962 | 0.578 | 0.034 | 243.718 |
| 9 |  Nico Hulkenberg |
 |
1'18.029 | 0.645 | 0.067 | 243.509 |
| 10 |  Kevin Magnussen |
 |
1'18.159 | 0.775 | 0.130 | 243.104 |
| 11 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
1'18.218 | 0.834 | 0.059 | 242.921 |
| 12 | Lando Norris |
 |
1'18.243 | 0.859 | 0.025 | 242.843 |
| 13 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
1'18.312 | 0.928 | 0.069 | 242.629 |
| 14 | Nyck de Vries |
 |
1'18.450 | 1.066 | 0.138 | 242.202 |
| 15 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
1'18.471 | 1.087 | 0.021 | 242.137 |
| 16 |  Oscar Piastri |
 |
1'18.517 | 1.133 | 0.046 | 241.996 |
| 17 |  Zhou Guanyu |
 |
1'18.540 | 1.156 | 0.023 | 241.925 |
| 18 |  Logan Sargeant |
 |
1'18.557 | 1.173 | 0.017 | 241.872 |
| 19 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
1'18.714 | 1.330 | 0.157 | 241.390 |
| 20 |  Sergio Perez |
|
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| View full results | ||||||
What happened in Australian Grand Prix Q2?
The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc set the initial pace at 1m17.560s until Verstappen took over at the top with 1m17.219s. Alonso got to within 0.064s of that before Verstappen ran again and improved to 1m17.056s, ahead of Alonso and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari).
Knocked out at this point were Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Lando Norris (McLaren, who suffered an off at Turn 3), Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri).
Australian Grand Prix Q2 results: Verstappen fastest from Alonso
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen |
 |
1'17.056 | 246.584 | ||
| 2 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
1'17.283 | 0.227 | 0.227 | 245.860 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz |
 |
1'17.349 | 0.293 | 0.066 | 245.650 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc |
 |
1'17.390 | 0.334 | 0.041 | 245.520 |
| 5 | Nico Hulkenberg |
 |
1'17.412 | 0.356 | 0.022 | 245.450 |
| 6 | George Russell |
|
1'17.513 | 0.457 | 0.101 | 245.130 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton |
|
1'17.551 | 0.495 | 0.038 | 245.010 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
1'17.574 | 0.518 | 0.023 | 244.937 |
| 9 | Lance Stroll |
 |
1'17.616 | 0.560 | 0.042 | 244.805 |
| 10 | Alex Albon |
 |
1'17.761 | 0.705 | 0.145 | 244.348 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon |
|
1'17.768 | 0.712 | 0.007 | 244.326 |
| 12 | Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
1'18.099 | 1.043 | 0.331 | 243.291 |
| 13 | Lando Norris |
 |
1'18.119 | 1.063 | 0.020 | 243.228 |
| 14 | Kevin Magnussen |
 |
1'18.129 | 1.073 | 0.010 | 243.197 |
| 15 | Nyck de Vries |
 |
1'18.335 | 1.279 | 0.206 | 242.558 |
| View full results | ||||||
What happened in Australian Grand Prix Q3?
On the first runs, Verstappen laid down his marker with a scrappy lap of 1m17.578s. Alonso beat that with 1m17.303s, before Hamilton banged in a 1m17.271s to snatch the quickest time.
Verstappen, who slipped to sixth, pushed again and grabbed P1 back with 1m17.262s, but only by 0.009s from Hamilton.
On the final runs, Verstappen lowered his pole time to 1m16.732s, 0.236s ahead of Russell, while Hamilton just pipped Alonso for third. Sainz will start fifth, ahead of Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Leclerc, Alex Albon (Williams) Pierre Gasly (Alpine), and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas).
Australian Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen |
|
1'16.732 | 247.625 | ||
| 2 | George Russell |
 |
1'16.968 | 0.236 | 0.236 | 246.866 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
1'17.104 | 0.372 | 0.136 | 246.430 |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso |
|
1'17.139 | 0.407 | 0.035 | 246.318 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz |
 |
1'17.270 | 0.538 | 0.131 | 245.901 |
| 6 | Lance Stroll |
|
1'17.308 | 0.576 | 0.038 | 245.780 |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc |
|
1'17.369 | 0.637 | 0.061 | 245.586 |
| 8 | Alex Albon |
|
1'17.609 | 0.877 | 0.240 | 244.827 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
1'17.675 | 0.943 | 0.066 | 244.619 |
| 10 | Nico Hulkenberg |
|
1'17.735 | 1.003 | 0.060 | 244.430 |
| View full results | ||||||
