23/03/2024
NEWS STORY
Ahead of Q1 the air temperature is 19 degrees C, while the track temperature is 35 degrees. It is bright but with lots of cloud.
With a question mark over the tyres, we are expecting a closely fought qualifying session today with traffic in Q1 and Q2 adding to the drama.
The softs had shown themselves to be good for 2 or 3 fast laps but this morning that wasn't always the case, while Carlos Sainz posted the best time on mediums, leading to speculation that someone might take the gamble and run the yellow-banded rubber in Q3.
Mercedes was a lot more competitive than yesterday, while Ferrari appears to have the legs of Red Bull, with Alonso and Piastri also looking strong.
In the minutes before the start, the mechanics are working furiously on both Mercedes.
As a reminder the top eight were covered by just 0.373 earlier.
Albon leads the queue in the pitlane with as number of drivers clearly eager to get to work as soon as possible.
As Albon heads out to the applause of the crowd, he is followed by Ocon, Gasly, Hulkenberg and Magnussen.
Albon warns of a lot of leaves on the track as the Ferraris, Bulls and Mercedes head out.
Albon crosses the line at 18.709 as replay shows him running wide in Turn 9 and therefore having his time deleted.
Leclerc calls for a darker visor, as Magnussen posts an 17.874 and Hulkenberg a 17.992.
"So much understeer," complains Verstappen as he posts a 17.478, while the stewards have noted an impeding incident involving Perez and Hulkenberg.
Sainz goes quickest but is immediately leapfrogged by his Ferrari teammate who posts a 17.244. A 17.670 puts Perez fourth.
Norris goes fifth, ahead of Piastri, Alonso, Magnussen and Stroll.
Ocon pits after brushing the barriers while Albon goes twelfth with an 18.154.
Hamilton goes fifth but his teammate can only manage 15th.
Piastri improves to third with a 17.369, just ahead of his McLaren teammate.
Leclerc responds with a 17.244 and Perez a 17.275, only for Alonso to bang in a 16.991.
A 17.229 puts Verstappen second.
Sainz goes quickest (16.731) and his Ferrari teammate second (16.984).
Gasly has been noted for crossing the line at the pit exit.
Russell fails to improve on 17th as some drivers are managing two flying laps and others only one. "The front brakes really don't feel like they're working," reports the Mercedes driver.
Despite his brake issue, Russell improves to tenth (17.522), just behind his teammate.
Norris complains of rear-locking as Gasly improves to fourteenth.
The Bulls trade fastest sectors, Perez going second (16.805), while Verstappen goes third (16.819).
A 17.130 puts Albon sixth.
With 2:30 remaining, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Zhou and Ocon comprise the drop zone, with Gasly, Bottas and Magnussen hovering.
Magnussen improves to 13th and Gasly 15th, while Ricciardo goes tenth.
Stroll goes eighth and Bottas thirteenth.
Tsunoda goes seventh, Russell sixth and Ocon 15th as Ricciardo has his time deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 5 and drops to 18th.
"Where did I get damage," wails Zhou after failing to make the cut, his car sporting a broken front wing after he apparently clipped a kerb.
Quickest is Sainz, ahead of Perez, Verstappen, Leclerc, Alonso, Russell, Albon, Tsunoda, Piastri and Stroll.
We lose Hulkenberg, Gasly, Ricciardo and Zhou.
Albon, Magnussen, Zhou, Perez, Ocon and Russell are to be investigated for failing to adhere to the maximum delta time.
Sainz leads the way as Q2 gets underway. He is followed by Ocon, Verstappen, Leclerc, Albon, Stroll and Alonso. As more drivers head out it is a mixture of fresh and used softs.
Verstappen posts a 16.387, ahead of Sainz, Leclerc and Albon, however Perez and Norris are on strong laps.
Perez goes fourth (16.753) only to be demoted by Norris (16.750).
Hamilton goes sixth (17.014) but is demoted when a 16.601 puts Piastri second.
Stroll goes eighth and his teammate ninth.
Russell goes seventh with a 16.901, as Magnussen can only manage 13th.
Having previously run used softs, the Ferrari pair switch to fresh rubber.
Ocon complains of vibrations.
Sainz goes quickest in S1 and S3, crossing the line at 16.189. His teammate responds with a 16.569 to go third while Perez goes fifth with a 16.631.
Ocon fails to improve on 15th, as Albon goes eleventh and Alonso seventh.
Stroll posts a 17.064 but remains tenth, while Albon aborts his lap and pits. "I lost everything in 9 and 10," he reports.
Hamilton remains ninth after a poor final sector, while his teammate remains eighth.
Bottas and Magnussen both fail to improve, while Tsunoda goes eighth only to be demoted by Stroll, who also drops Hamilton out of the top ten.
"Are we safe or not," asks the seven-time world champion. "Negative, we've just been bumped," he is told.
Quickest is Sainz, ahead of Leclerc, Verstappen, Piastri, Perez, Alonso, Norris, Stroll, Tsunoda and Russell.
We lose Hamilton, Albon, Bottas, Magnussen and Ocon.
Check out our Saturday gallery from Melbourne here.
Sainz leads the way as the final phase gets underway, the Spaniard followed by Russell, Alonso, Leclerc and Tsunoda. As more drivers emerge most are on used rubber, though the Ferraris, Bulls and McLarens are on fresh softs.
Sainz crosses the line at 16.331 while Russell posts a 16.875.
Leclerc goes second (16.435) while Verstappen responds with a 16.048 and Perez a 16.458.
Norris goes fifth (16.597) and Piastri sixth, while Alonso runs wide in Turn 6 and subsequently pits. "Box, box, I lost the car in Turn 6," he reports.
Russell is first out for the final assault, followed by Stroll and Alonso.
Stroll goes eighth (17.201), having made a mistake in the second sector as he struggled to control the Aston Martin.
Verstappen goes purple in the first sector, but Sainz goes quicker. Perez is alos on a hot lap.
Alonso can only manage tenth, while Verstappen crosses the line at 15.915.
Perez goes second with a 16.274 but Sainz responds with a 16.815.
Norris goes fourth and Russell seventh as Leclerc pits, the Ferrari drivers appearing to have made a mistake in Turn 12. "The car was really difficult to drive," he says, "it was going from understeer to oversteer all the time."
Not the thriller we were hoping for but it certainly had its moments and more than a few shocks, not least Hamilton and Ricciardo.
However, when you strip it all down, we have that man Max on pole yet again and would bet against him claiming victory tomorrow.
"A bit unexpected today," says the Dutchman, barely able to keep a straight face, "but very happy with Q3, both laps felt very nice.
"A bit of a tricky weekend so far," he adds, "Ferrari seem very quick in the long runs so that makes tomorrow exciting."
"It's been a tough couple of weeks," adds Sainz, "a lot of days in bed waiting to see if I could be here today. To put it on the front row after leading through qualifying, I was almost not believing it.
"I was a bit rusty yesterday but I'm feeling good with the car. I'm not going to lie, not in my most comfortable state when I'm driving out there but I can get it done."
"I think there was a bit more in it," says Perez, "my first sector was not great especially Turn 1.
"I'm happy," he grins, "but tomorrow we have a fight on our hands with the Ferraris and the rest of the field as degradation looks very high, so starting position isn't as important.
"We've changed a bit our strategy tomorrow, let's see who can survive the most on the degradation side."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Melbourne here.