F1 Australian Grand Prix qualifying: McLaren begin the yr on the entrance foot

The primary qualifying session of the 2025 Formulation 1 season is right here, and it’s all to play for on the Australian Grand Prix.

Saturday’s third follow session noticed hometown hero Oscar Piastri prime the timing sheets, as lap occasions tumbled all through the hour-long session as groups and drivers put in additional simulated qualifying runs. Nonetheless, Piastri just isn’t the one driver to observe as qualifying begins. Mercedes driver George Russell was simply 0.039 seconds off Piastri’s tempo, and Max Verstappen was simply 0.081 seconds behind in third.

However a number of different drivers are within the combine. The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton confirmed improved tempo on Saturday, and Russell’s new teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli completed fifth in FP3. The Williams pair of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alexander Albon completed sixth and seventh respectively — and confirmed true race tempo earlier within the session with some laps on the arduous compound — and Lando Norris was on a blistering lap at one level earlier than bailing out within the last sector. Norris completed in P10 however these first two sectors definitely caught the eyes of many within the paddock.

Comply with alongside stay as we break down the primary qualifying session of the 2025 F1 season.

All occasions are in Jap.

F1 Australian Grand Prix Q3 Outcomes

Listed below are the provisional qualifying outcomes for the Australian Grand Prix:

2:02: It’s a McLaren entrance row, with Norris in P1 and Piastri in P2. A “large” end result for McLaren says Jolyon Palmer within the sales space on F1TV. Verstappen and Russell will begin on the second row.

Maybe the largest stunner of all of them? Yuki Tsunoda in P5. What a drive.

2:01: Leclerc slots in fifth, Hamilton sixth.

2:00: Norris pips his teammate to leap to the highest of the timing sheets. Verstappen slots in third, with Russell behind him in fourth.

1:59: Piastri jumps to the highest on provisional pole.

1:57: With 4 minutes left in Q3 the ten automobiles roar out of their respective garages to get their last runs in.

1:52: Verstappen on provisional pole, adopted by Russell, Leclerc, Piastri, and Hamilton. Norris had a fast lap, but it surely was deleted for exceeding observe limits.

1:49: Race officers have already decided that the incident between Russell and Leclerc required no additional motion.

1:48: A inexperienced gentle in Melbourne for Q3.

F1 Australian Grand Prix Q2 Outcomes

1:47: A lot of purple microsectors for each Piastri and Norris on their first push laps.

1:46: An incident between Russell and Leclerc for potential impeding at Flip 4 has been famous by race officers.

1:43: The highest ten in Q2, who will advance to Q3: Norris, , Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, Sainz, Tsunoda, Albon, and Gasly.

Two McLaren drivers, two Ferrari drivers, two Williams drivers, a Pink Bull, a VCARB, and an Alpine. Simply what all of us anticipated.

1:42: Q2 involves an in depth with Hadjar, Alonso, Stroll, Doohan, and Bortoleto eradicated.

1:35: WIth 5 minutes now left in Q2 Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Russell, and Leclerc stay the highest 5, with the highest 4 there nonetheless within the storage. Leclerc simply completed one other push lap and didn’t enhance his place. Hamilton jumped up into P6 behind his new Ferrari teammate.

1:33 With seven minutes left in Q2 the 5 drivers within the elimination zone are Hadjar, Stroll, Bortoleto, Alonso, and Doohan. Neither Alonso nor Doohan have posted a lap time but, because the Aston Martin driver bailed out of his push lap after operating large at Flip 10, and Doohan’s lap was deleted for exceeding observe limits.

For extra on observe limits we have now you coated right here.

1:32 Replays on F1TV present each Alonso and Sainz run large at Flip 10 and into the gravel. Sainz radios into the Williams storage to verify the ground of his FW47.

1:30 Ten minutes left in Q2, and Piastri is atop the timing sheets, simply 0.088 seconds forward of Norris. Verstappen, Russell, and Leclerc spherical out our present prime 5.

1:26 Q2 is underway, with Verstappen and Leclerc on the observe.

F1 Australian Grand Prix Q1 Outcomes

1:21: The 5 drivers eradicated: Antonelli, Hülkenberg, Lawson, Ocon, and Bearman.

1:20: Bortoleto comes throughout the road on the loss of life and jumps into P15, bumping his fellow rookie Antonelli right down to P16. A large lap from Bortoleto and Sauber, because the rookie out-qualifies his teammate Hülkenberg, who completed in P17.

1:18: Gasly will get the lap he wants and jumps to P8. Doohan then jumps forward of him into P8, pushing his teammate right down to P9.

1:17: Lawson finds the grass at Flip 9 and is headed to the pits, he will likely be eradicated in Q1 together with Bearman, who has not left the storage given his gearbox concern.

1:15: With three minutes left in Q1 the 5 drivers within the drop zone are Gasly, Hülkenberg, Lawson, Ocon, and Bearman. These in peril of elimination embody Isack Hadjar in P11, Jack Doohan in P12, Yuki Tsunoda in P13, Antonelli in P15, and Gabriel Bortoleto in P15.

1:13 Replays present Liam Lawson take a fast detour by the gravel, however the Pink Bull driver manages to keep away from the wall on his journey.

1:10 Russell goes into P4, however he posts that on the medium compound. Mercedes has each him and Antonelli out on the medium tires to start out Q1.

1:08: With ten minutes left in FP1 Norris is atop the board, adopted by Verstappen, Piastri, Leclerc, and Fernando Alonso.

1:06 Lando Norris goes to the highest of the timing sheets with slightly below 12 minutes left in Q1.

1:01 Bearman simply reported that he has an issue together with his gearbox and he peels into the pits.

1:00 We’ve got a inexperienced gentle in Melbourne and Q1 is underway. Maybe unsurprisingly Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman — who crashed in each FP1 (which brought about him to overlook FP2) and FP3 — had been the primary two off pit lane.