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Category: Formula 1
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Verstappen bounces back to take pole ahead of McLarens
Imola, 18 May 2024: Max Verstappen bounced back from a difficult build-up to take pole-position for the 2024 FIA Formula Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in a tight qualifying session at Imola in which he beat McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris by less than a tenth of a second. There was disappointment for Piastri after the session, however as the Australian was handed a three-place grid penalty by the race stewards for imnpeding Haas’ Kevin Magnussen earlier in the session.
In Friday’s practice sessions Verstappen had branded his RB20 car “difficult” and the Red Bull driver went into Saturday looking for dramatic improvements in balance and performance. Those seemed to be materialising in the morning’s practice session, but crashes for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez derailed that process and Verstappen went into qualifying largely blind. However, throughout qualifying Verstappen found more and more pace until the final run of Q3 when he improved marginally on his provisional pole time to seal his eighth consecutive pole and his seventh of 2024 seven hundredths of a second ahead of Piastri.
“I felt more comfortable,” Verstappen said afterwards. “I could attack corners finally a bit more and it all started to come together and it really came together in Q3. It was just following the track, to be honest. A really difficult weekend so far, even this morning, so I’m incredibly happy to be on pole here.”
At the beginning of the one-hour session it was Esteban Ocon who set the pace in Q1, with the Alpine driver posting a lap of 1:16.645 on Soft tyres to top the timesheet ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Charles Leclerc then beat Ocon by just 0.002, though the fact that the Monegasque driver did so on Medium tyres boded well for Ferrari’s hopes in the session. Norris then took over at the top thanks to a lap of 1:16.194 on Soft tyres. Verstappen then vaulted to the top of the order with a lap of 1:16.013. His stay in P1 was brief, though, as first Piastri and then Norris moved ahead with the latter taking top spot with a time of 1:15.915.
In the final moments of the session, Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg sprung a surprise by posting a lap of 1:16.841 to take P1. Verstappen was on another run, however, and the Dutchman claimed the best time of the session with a lap of 1:15.762. Behind him, Leclerc put in another lap on Mediums and he took second place, just five hundredths off Max.
There was no place in Q2 for Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu or for Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso or Williams’ Logan Sargeant.
The Bulls were out early in Q2, with Verstappen posting a lap of 1:15.386 to take P1 ahead of Pérez whose lap of 1:15.853 put him second. However, the Red Bulls were then split by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who stopped the clock at 1:15.702 and Leclerc then claimed the quickest time of the session with a lap of 1:15.328. There as also a second surprise of the session when RB’s Yuki Tusnoda jumped ahead of Verstappen to take P3 three hundredths of a second ahead of the Dutchman.
In the final runs, Verstappen took top spot with a lap of 1:15.176, ahead of Leclerc and Tsunoda. Behind them, improvements were being made and RB’s Daniel Ricciardo scraped into the top 10 with a lap of 1:15.691. That left Pérez in P11 and though the Mexican was just starting his final flyer he couldn’t find the necessary pace and he slipped to his first Q2 exit of the year, 0.015s off Ricciardo and ahead of Ocon, Lance Stroll, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly.
At the start of the top 10 shootout took provisional pole with a lap of 1:14.896, 0.073s ahead of Norris, with Leclerc in third, a further seven hundredths back. And in a tense sequence of final runs, the Dutchman grabbed his eighth consecutive pole, recording a best time of 1:14.746, just 0.074 ahead of Piastri, with Norris also within a tenth of the champion in third place.
Verstappen’s achievement equals the consecutive poles record held by Ayrton Senna who death 20 years at Imola is being marked this weekend.
“It’s very special,” said Max of equalling Senna’s record. “It’s 30 years since he passed away at this track, so of course I’m very pleased to get pole here. In a way, it’s a nice memory to him. He was an incredible Formula 1 driver, especially in qualifying laps as well. So, yeah, a great day for me, a great day for the team!”
Following the session, the stewards summoned Piastri over his incident with Magnussen at the end of Q1 and after hearing from both drivers and their teams, Piastri was given a three-place grid penalty for tomorrow’s race. It means that Norris advances to the front row alongside Verstappen, with Leclerc in P3 ahead of Sainz and then Piastri. George Russell will start sixth for Mercedes ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and the second Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, while Daniel Ricciardo will start at the front of row five ahead of P10 qualifier Nico Hülkenberg.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:14.746 – –
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:14.820 0.074
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:14.837 0.091
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:14.970 0.224
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:15.233 0.487
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:15.234 0.488
7 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:15.465 0.719
8 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:15.504 0.758
9 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1:15.674 0.928
10 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:15.980 1.234
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:15.706 0.960
12 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:15.906 1.160
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:15.992 1.246
14 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:16.200 1.454
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:16.381 1.635
16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:16.626 1.880
17 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:16.834 2.088
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:16.854 2.108
19 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:16.917 2.171
20 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes – – – -
Leclerc tops Free Practice; Verstappen struggles in P7
Imola, 17 May 2024: Charles added the fastest lap of second practice to his P1 time from the opening session, with the Ferrari driver outpacing McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by almost two tenths of a second as championship leader Max Verstappen continued to struggle with the balance of his Red Bull RB20 and finished seventh.
After a troubled opening session in which he went off track twice, Verstappen looked more comfortable at the start of FP2 and he moved into an early lead with a time of 1:16.930 ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Ferrari cars of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
After 13 minutes Leclerc moved to the top of the order with a lap of 1:16.677 set on Medium tyres and soon after the field began to move to C5 Soft compound tyres for qualifying simulations. Mercedes
George Russell put in a lap of 1:16.820 on the red-banded Pirelli tyres to go fourth, 0.143s off Leclerc’s leading effort set on medium, before the Ferrari drive extended his advantage on Softs with a lap 1:15.969 moving half a second clear of nearest challenger Sainz.
At the half way mark Piastri then split the Ferraris just 0.129s off Leclerc. However, further back Verstappen could only manage fourth and nearly half a second back and he was soon bounced out as Russell improved to 1:16.311 to go third.
With 27 minutes left on the clock RB’s Yuki Tsunoda jumped to third place just three-tenths off Leclerc. However, the Monegasque driver then found more time and tightened his grip on P1 with a time of 1:15.906s. Hamilton also found time and moved up to fourth for Mercedes.
Further back though, Verstappen was again struggling with the Dutchman complaining on the radio that “it’s so difficult, everything man, this time suddenly the front grips up a lot and I almost spin”.
In the end the championship leader’s best time of 1:16.447 was only good enough for seventh place behind, a tenth ahead of team-mate Sergio Pérez. Verstappen’s unhappy Friday was capped by an off-track moment five minutes from the end of the session. This time the Dutch driver lost control in the between the two Rivazza corners and he was forced through run-off.
At the top, Leclerc doubled up on his FP1 first place, 0.192 ahead of Piastri and with Tsunoda third ahead of Hamilton, Russell and Sainz. With Verstappen and Perez seventh and eighth respectively, ninth place went to Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg, and the top 10 was rounded out by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:15.906 29 232.819
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:16.098 0.192 30 232.232
3 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:16.286 0.380 32 231.659
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:16.297 0.391 29 231.626
5 George Russell Mercedes 1:16.311 0.405 32 231.583
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:16.423 0.517 30 231.244
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:16.447 0.541 23 231.171
8 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:16.552 0.646 25 230.854
9 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:16.826 0.920 28 230.031
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:16.838 0.932 29 229.995
11 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1:16.967 1.061 32 229.610
12 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:16.980 1.074 30 229.571
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:16.991 1.085 26 229.538
14 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:17.008 1.102 31 229.487
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:17.064 1.158 32 229.321
16 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber/Ferrari 1:17.088 1.182 28 229.249
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:17.129 1.223 32 229.127
18 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:17.135 1.229 23 229.110
19 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber/Ferrari 1:17.606 1.700 28 227.719
20 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1:17.848 1.942 22 227.011 -
Landi Norris lands his first F1 victory beating Verstappen: Miami F1 GP
Miami, 5 May 2024: McLaren’s Lando Norris scored his first Formula 1 race win in the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, benefiting from a mid-race Safety Car to jump ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and then power to a convincing victory seven seconds clear of the championship leader. Charles Leclerc took third place for Ferrari ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz and the second Red Bull of Sergio Pérez.
“About time,” said Norris after winning at the 110th attempt. “What a race. It’s been a long time coming, but finally I’ve managed to do it, so I’m so happy for my whole team. I finally delivered for them. And, yeah, long day, tough race, but finally on top, so I’m over the moon.”
When the lights went out at the start, Verstappen got away well to take the lead on the short run towards Turn 1. However, just behind him, Leclerc got away badly and under pressure from Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz, the Monegasque driver moved right to try to fend off the attack. Pérez, tried an ambitious move down the inside but he outbraked himself and slide across the track in front of Sainz. That allowed Leclerc to recover and retake second but as the Sainz and Pérez rejoined, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took advantage to edge past both and take P3.
At the front, Verstappen began to pull away from the pack, but Piastri, showing the first signs of McLaren’s strong pace, began to close in on Leclerc. And on lap four the Australian used DRS to power past the Ferrari driver on the long run to Turn 17.
The leaders then began to settle into their first stint and by lap 10 Verstappen had carved out a three-second lead over Piastri, while the McLaren driver had a similar advantage over the Ferrari’s of Leclerc and Sainz. Pérez, meanwhile, was holding onto fifth place, 1.7s behind Sainz and just ahead of Norris.
At the end of lap 18, Pérez became the first of the front-runners to make a pit stop, switching to Hard compound Pirellis in a 1.9s stop. Leclerc was next in, two laps later, but Verstappen, Paistri, Sainz and Norris stayed out. Verstappen then had a moment when he took too much kerb in Turn 14 and after bouncing across the chicane he hit an off-track bollard.
The collision appeared to do minimal damage, but the bollard was on the racing line and a VSC was briefly deployed. As the caution ended, Verstappen pitted for checks on his front wing and for a set of Hard tyres, a move that put Piastri into the lead ahead of Sainz and when they made stops on lap 27, Norris inherited the lead ahead of Verstappen.
With Norris requiring a fresh set of tyres, the expectation was that Verstappen would soon return to top spot, but on lap 29, Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant collided at Turn 2. Sargeant went off backwards and the Safety Car was released.
The race restarted on lap 33, with Norris having to defend hard as Verstappen attacked but the McLaren driver
Held on to the lead and in the following laps he carved out a 1.5s gap to Verstappen.
Behind them, Sainz began to put heavy pressure on Piastri and on lap 39 the Ferrari driver muscled his way through. There was contact and the front wing damage sustained by Paistri allowed Pérez to pounce and he roared past the struggling McLaren to get back fifth place. Hamilton, too, got past Piastri who was forced to pit for a new wing.
At the front, with Verstappen again complaining about a lack of front-end grip, Norris began to tighten his grip on the lead. But lap 45 he was four seconds ahead of Verstappen and with the champion eventually settling into management mode ahead of Leclerc, Norris was able to stretch his lead to seven seconds at the flag.
Behind Verstappen, Leclerc took third place ahead of Sainz, while Pérez took a battling fifth place ahead of Hamilton and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda. George Russell finished eighth in the second Mercedes ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and the final point went to Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix – Race
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 57 1:30’49.876
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 57 1:30’57.488 7.612
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 57 1:30’59.796 9.920
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 57 1:31’01.283 11.407
5 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 57 1:31’04.526 14.650
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 1:31’06.461 16.585
7 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 57 1:31’16.061 26.185
8 George Russell Mercedes 57 1:31’24.665 34.789
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 57 1:31’26.983 37.107
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 57 1:31’29.622 39.746
11 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 57 1:31’30.665 40.789
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 57 1:31’34.834 44.958
13 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 57 1:31’39.632 49.756
14 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 57 1:31’39.855 49.979
15 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 57 1:31’40.832 50.956
16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 57 1:31’42.232 52.356
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 57 1:31’45.049 55.173
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 57 1:31’54.559 1’04.683
19 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 57 1:32’05.967 1’16.091
Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 27 43’03.540 Accident -
Verstappen takes his first Sprint pole of 2024: Miami F1
Miami, 3 May 2024: Max Verstappen took his first Sprint pole of 2024, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by just over a tenth of a second in a tight qualifying session for the Sprint at the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. Sergio Pérez took third place, but Mercedes’ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were eliminated at the end of SQ2.
At the start of SQ1 it was Pérez who took the early lead but the Red Bull driver was immediately bounced out of top spot by team-mate Verstappen who posted a time of 1:28.601 to eclipse the Mexican by eight hundredths of a second.
Pérez was then shuffled back to fourth as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took second, just 0.038s behind Verstappen, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris, in the other McLaren, then bumped all four down a place by taking top spot with a lap of 1:27.939.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen then made a big jump, posting a lap of 1:28.377 to climb to third behind Verstappen, and the Danish driver’s time was followed by a slew of late improvements, with Piastri slotting into P2 behind Norris and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso moving ahead of Verstappen thanks to a final lap of 1:28.192.
At the bottom of the order there was no place in SQ2 for Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who went out in P16, ahead of the Alfa Romeos of Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas. The bottom two places were filled by Williams pair Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon. Thai driver Albon might have made it through but his final lap was deleted for a track limits infringement in Turn 15 and he exited in P20.
At the start of the second segment, Pérez again set the early pace. The Mexican posted a lap of 1:27.865 to take top spot a tenth of a second ahead of Leclerc and two clear of RB’s Daniel Ricciardo. However, Norris then appeared to once again bounce the Red Bull driver out of P1, with the McLaren going quickest of all with a lap of 1:27.597.
Verstappen opted for a single SQ2 run but after emerging with just over three minutes remaining, the Dutchman could only make his way to fourth place on the timesheet behind Leclerc and 0.121 ahead of Ricciardo. Piastri went through in P6 ahead of Alonso, the second Ferrari or Carlos Sainz, the second Aston of Lance Stroll and the 10th-placed Haas of Nico Hülkenberg.
However, the major shock was the exit of both Mercedes drivers, with George Russell dropping out in P11 a little under three hundredths of a second ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton who took 12th place. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon exited in P13 ahead of Magnussen, while Yuki Tsunoda in the other RB was ruled out in P15.
In SQ3, Pérez led the way for the third time in the session, with the Mexican stopping the clock at 1:27.876. Behind him Verstappen had a nervous moment in Turn 14, but despite the snap he moved to the top of the order, two tenths ahead of his team-mate.
After topping the first two session and with Verstappen making a mistake, the way looked clear for Norris to take a second Sprint pole of the season but a lurid slide on his lap lost the Briton a chunk of time as Leclerc took second, Norris had to settle for ninth.
Behind the top three, Ricciardo took an impressive fourth for RB ahead of Sainz, Piastri and Stroll. Alonso was eighth ahead of Norris and the final top 10 place was filled by Hülkenberg.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:27.641 – –
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:27.749 0.108 0.123
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 1:27.876 0.235
4 Daniel Ricciardo RB 1:28.044 0.403
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:28.103 0.462
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:28.161 0.520
7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:28.375 0.734
8 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:28.419 0.778
9 Lando Norris McLaren 1:28.472 0.831
10 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 1:28.476 0.835
11 George Russell Mercedes 1:28.343 0.702
12 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:28.371 0.730
13 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:28.379 0.738
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:28.614 0.973
15 Yuki Tsunoda RB – – –
16 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:29.185 1.544
17 Zhou Guanyu Sauber 1:29.267 1.626
18 Valtteri Bottas Sauber 1:29.360 1.719
19 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:29.551 1.910
20 Alexander Albon Williams 1:29.858 2.217 -
Max Verstappen take pole for Chinese Grand Prix
Shanghai (China), 20 April 2024: Max Verstappen scored his fifth pole in five races and Red Bull’s 100th pole position with a dominant performance in qualifying for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, beating Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez by three tenths of a second. Fernando Alonso took third place for Aston Martin.
It was Alonso who made the early running at the start of Q1, with the Spaniad taking top spot with a lap of 1:35.226. Verstappen’s first flying lap of qualifying for Sunday’s first Chinese Grand Prix since 2019 put the champion in second place, 0.055s behind the Aston Martin driver. Elsewhere, Pérez was forced wide on his opening lap when he came across a much slower Alex Albon, a moment that almost cost the Mexican dearly later on.
McLaren’s Piastri moved ahead of Alonso at the top of the order but he was quickly ousted by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who in turn was bumped out of top spot by McLaren’s Lando Norris who reset the bar at 1:34.842.
Sergio, meanwhile, was for another run but on what he later called “hot, used tyres” his first proper effort only put him sixth, 0.615s behind Norris’ pacesetting time. It led to a nervous final few minutes for the Mexican as a barrage of better final runs came in across the field.
At the top of that list of quicker times was Verstappen, whose second run vaulted him to top spot. The China Sprint winner posted a lap of 1:34.742 to progress to Q2 ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Norris.
Pérez, however, was in trouble. With the track ramping up swiftly and with a number of drivers making big leaps up the order, the Mexican driver slid to 15th at the end of the session. “That was close,” he said as he slipped through to second session just under five hundredths of a second ahead of Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu who was eliminated in P16.
But while Pérez was lucky to escape the drop, there was no such good fortune for Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Behind 17th-place Kevin Magnussen of Haas, Lewis Hamilton dropped out in P18, ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Logan Sargeant.
Verstappen maintained his grip on top spot at the start of the second session, with the Dutchman posting a strong opening lap of 1:33.946 to take spot, half a second ahead of Norris, with Piastri two tenths further back in third.
Pérez posted a lap of 1:34.883, putting him fifth behind Alonso and almost a second off Max, but as the Mexican crossed the line, Sainz was powering into the final corner. However, the Spaniard dipped the rear right wheel into the gravel and his Ferrari was immediately pitched into a 360 degree spin. He slid backwards into the barriers and the session was red-flagged. The Ferrari driver managed to get his car going again and under the red flag he limped back to the pits minus his front wing.
After an almost 10-minute halt to clear debris from Sainz’s crash, the session resumed with seven minutes left on the clock. Mercedes’ George Russell was first out on track and he jumped to P3 with a time of 1:34.609. Only Verstappen joined him on track at this stage and the champion extended his P1 advantage, posting a lap of 1:33.794 to sit 0.666s ahead of Norris.
Sainz, in his swiftly repaired Ferrari climbed to P2 in the closing moments of the session, ahead of team-mate Leclerc, but behind them Pérez was going quicker and the Mexican made it a one-two at the flag with a lap of 1:34.026 that put him more than three tenths clear of the Sainz.
Outside the top 10, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was eliminated in P11 ahead of fellow fallers Daniel Ricciardo of RB, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Williams’ Alex Albon and the second Alpine of Pierre Gasly.
In the final top-10 shootout, Verstappen Max stamped his authority on the timesheet in the first runs, setting a lap of 1:33.977 to beat Alonso by 0.394s. Pérez took third but was unhappy with a change to his front wing ahead of the session. Norris sat in fourth ahead of team-mate Piastri, with the McLarens ahead of the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc.
And in the final runs of the session Verstappen was untouchable. The Red Bull pairing were last out on track but while there was movement on the timesheet, with Alonso moving up the order to initially take P2 ahead of the McLarens and Ferrari, Verstappen was going quicker than his own opening run and when he crossed the line he improved to 1:33.660 to take Red Bull’s 100th pole and to become the first driver since Mika Häkkinen in 1999 to take pole in the opening five races of a season.
“Before I jumped in the car [before qualifying] Christian told me that if I got pole it would be 100 for the team and I thought ‘that’s nice, I’ll try, I’ll give it a good go’,” he said. “It’s an incredible achievement for the whole team. Of course there was a good contribution from Seb back in the day! It just shows that the car is really working well. It’s a good start to the year and I feel very confident in quali compared to last year.”
Behind him, Pérez also improved but he finished two tenths off Verstappen as he took the 12th front row start of his career and his second of the season so far. Alonso finished third ahead of Norris and Piastri, while Sainz and Leclerc will line up on row three ahead of Russell, Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg and Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas.2024 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:33.660 – –
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 1:33.982 0.322 0.344
3 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:34.148 0.488 0.521
4 Lando Norris McLaren 1:34.165 0.505 0.539
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:34.273 0.613 0.654
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:34.289 0.629 0.672
7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:34.297 0.637 0.680
8 George Russell Mercedes 1:34.433 0.773 0.825
27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 1:34.604 0.944 1.008
10 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber 1:34.665 1.005 1.073
11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:34.838 1.178 1.258
12 Daniel Ricciardo RB 1:34.934 1.274 1.360
13 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:35.223 1.563 1.669
14 Alexander Albon Williams 1:35.241 1.581 1.688
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:35.463 1.803 1.925
16 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber 1:35.505 1.845 1.970
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:35.516 1.856 1.982
18 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:35.573 1.913 2.042
19 Yuki Tsunoda RB 1:35.746 2.086 2.227
20 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:36.358 2.698 2.881 -
Max Verstappen wins first Sprint race of the season ahead of Hamilton
Shanghai (China) 20 April 2024: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen won the first Sprint of the 2024 F1 season, powering through from fourth on the grid to beat Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, with Sergio Pérez third in the other Red Bull in the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, the fifth round of the F1 World Championship at the Shanghai International Circuit here on Saturday.
When the lights went out at the start of the 19 lap, 100-km dash to the flag, it was Hamilton who got away best and he immediately attacked polesitter Lando Norris of McLaren as they went into the long loop of the first two corners. Norris, on the outside, tried to resist, but he was forced out wide on the dirty side of the track and slid wide. He tumbled down to P7 as Hamilton took the lead.
Behind them, Aston Martin’s Fernand Alonso was in third ahead of Verstappen, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, P´rez and the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Verstappen wasn’t happy, however, and as Hamilton began to build a gap at the front the Dutchman was on the radio complaining that he had a flat battery. He was given instructions to change settings on his steering wheel and during his phase dropped almost two seconds away from Hamilton and Alonso.
Just over a third of the way into the race, Hamilton had carved out a gap of 1.5s to Alonso, but Verstappen, with his battery issues fixed, was charging towards both. At the end of Lap 7, Verstappen closed in on Alonso and passed the Aston Martin driver into the hairpin to take P2.
On lap eight Hamilton ran wide at the hairpin and that was all the incentive Verstappen needed. He closed the gap to half a second as they crossed the start/finish line and then began to apply the pressure through the first sector of lap nine before getting the pass done into the hairpin. With the lead secured, Verstappen raced into the distance, quickly opening a sizable gap to the rest of the pack.
While Hamilton remained a comfortable second, Alonso began to fall back towards Sainz, Perez, Leclerc and Norris, and an exciting tussle developed.
On Lap 14, Leclerc attacked Perez around the outside of the final hairpin, but failed to pass. He tried again on the following lap but locked up and fell back slightly.
On lap 16, Sainz attacked Alonso heading into Turn 6. The pair went side-by-side into Turn 7 and the two Spaniards made contact, allowing Perez to sneak past both at Turn 8.
Alonso dropped back with a puncture and eventually retired. With Pérez in third, the battle for fourth was left to the two Ferraris who almost collided at the final hairpin – prompting an angry radio message from Leclerc – before Sainz ran wide at Turn 2 allowing his team mate to ease past.
From there, the lead positions remained unchanged, with Verstappen taking victory over Hamilton and Pérez, as Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, Piastri and Russell completed the top-eight positions and secured the points on offer.2024 FIA Chinese Grand Prix – Sprint
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing19 32’04.660
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 19 32’17.703 13.043
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 19 32’19.918 15.258
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 19 32’22.146 17.486
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 19 32’25.356 20.696
6 Lando Norris McLaren 19 32’26.748 22.088
7 Oscar Piastri McLaren 19 32’29.373 24.713
8 George Russell Mercedes 19 32’30.356 25.696
9 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber 19 32’36.611 31.951
10 Kevin Magnussen Haas 19 32’42.058 37.398
11 Daniel Ricciardo RB19 32’42.500 37.840
12 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber 19 32’42.955 38.295
13 Esteban Ocon Alpine 19 32’44.501 39.841
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 19 32’44.959 40.299
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine 19 32’45.498 40.838
16 Yuki Tsunoda RB 19 32’46.530 41.870
17 Alexander Albon Williams 19 32’47.658 42.998
18 Logan Sargeant Williams 19 32’51.012 46.352
19 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 19 32’54.290 49.630
20 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 17 29’39.513 Not running -
Max Verstappen wins again; Sergio Perez makes it 1-2 for Red Bull: Japan GP
Suzuka (Japan), 7 April 2024: Max Verstappen led a dominant Red Bull 1-2 at the Japanese Grand Prix, beating team-mate Sergio Pérez as Carlos Sainz finished third in a race that was red flagged for a crash involving Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon in the F1 World Championship Round 4 here on Sunday.
At the start of the race Verstappen got away well to take the lead ahead of Pérez and McLaren’s Lando Norris. However, further back there was contact. On the run to Turn 3, RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, hemmed in and focused on Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll to his left, drifted to the right as he prepared to turn in. He failed to see Alex Albon coming on his right and the pair collided. Both went spinning into the barriers and while the drivers were unhurt the tyre barriers required substantial repairs. The red flags therefore came out.
After a near 30-minute halt, the cars left the pit lane for a standing start, with Verstappen and Pérez again on the front row ahead of Norris, Sainz and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. And when the lights went out for a second time, the Red Bull duo again took up residence at the head of the field.
With Suzuka basking in strong sunshine, tyre degradation was an issue and the Medium-tyre runners at the front of the pack soon began to struggle. On lap 12, Norris was the first of the leaders to pit, switching to Hard tyres and dropping to P10. He was followed a lap later by McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and then by Alonso. Norris quickly put in the fastest lap of the race as his new Hard tyres began to come alive and when Pérez pitted, the strong undercut meant that Norris jumped ahead of both Sainz and Pérez.
Verstappen made his first stop on lap 17 and after switching to Mediums, he rejoined in P2, behind Charles Leclerc who was still on starting Mediums. The champion was soon chasing down the Ferrari driver, and at the start of lap 21 he breezed past to regain the lead.
Behind him, Pérez was chasing down Norris and on lap 22 he closed right up to the Briton through 130R before diving down the inside into the chicane to take P3 behind Leclerc who was now visibly struggling. Pérez began applying pressure and on lap 26 Leclerc went wide in Turn 9, allowing Pérez to sweep past. That was enough for Lecerc who headed for the pits to make his first stop, along with Norris who was making another early stop. Both switched to Hard tyres for the race to the flag.
Pérez made his final pit stop at the end of lap 33, switching to Hard tyres in a swift 2.1s halt. He rejoined in fifth place, just half a second behind Norris. There was no stopping the Mexican, however, and at the start of lap 35 he powered past the McLaren on the approach to Turn 1.
In the meantime, Verstappen made his final visit to the pit lane, and after taking on a set of Hard tyres he emerged in P2, behind Sainz who was beginning to struggle on his medium tyres. The Spaniard gave up the fight at the end of lap 36 and when he switched to a final set of Hard tyres, Verstappen retook the lead. Behind him, Pérez picked off the one-stopping Leclerc to move back to P2 a little over seven seconds behind his team-mate.
With 10 laps left the Red Bull drivers were in control, with Verstappen 11 seconds ahead of his team-mate, who was 9.6s ahead of Leclerc. Sainz was on the move, however. After passing Norris at the start of the lap he began to quickly close in on Leclerc and at the start of lap 46 he swept past his Ferrari team-mate under DRS on the run to Turn 1 to grab a podium finish.
And that sealed the order at the top. Verstappen managed his pace and at the end of lap 53 eased to his third win of the season and to a hat-trick of wins at Suzuka. Twelve seconds later Checo crossed the line to take his 38th podium finish and to seal another dominant 1-2 for the Team.
Behind the Bulls, Sainz held on to third ahead of Leclerc, while Norris finished fifth for McLaren ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. George Russell finished seventh, though the Mercedes driver was placed under investigation for appearing to force the eighth-placed McLaren of Oscar Piastri off the track on his way through. Lewis Hamilton was ninth in the second Mercedes and the final point was taken by RB’s home hero Yuki Tsunoda.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 53 1:54’23.566
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 53 1:54’36.101 12.535
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 53 1:54’44.432 20.866
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 53 1:54’50.088 26.522
5 Lando Norris McLaren 53 1:54’53.266 29.700
6 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 53 1:55’07.838 44.272
7 George Russell Mercedes 53 1:55’09.517 45.951
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren 53 1:55’11.091 47.525
9 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 53 1:55’12.192 48.626
10 Yuki Tsunoda RB 52 1:54’25.168 1 lap /1.602
11 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 52 1:54’30.734 1 lap /7.168
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 52 1:54’34.799 1 lap /11.233
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 52 1:54’41.485 1 lap /17.919
14 Valtteri Bottas Sauber 52 1:54’42.459 1 lap /18.893
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine 52 1:55’04.718 1 lap /41.152
16 Pierre Gasly Alpine 52 1:55’18.632 1 lap /55.066
17 Logan Sargeant Williams 52 1:55’36.331 1 lap /1’12.765
Zhou Guanyu Sauber 12 49’29.022 Gearbox
Daniel Ricciardo RB 0 – Accident
Alexander Albon Williams 0 – Accident -
Max Verstappen takes pole at Suzuka as Red Bull lock out front row
Suzuka, 6 April 2024: Max Verstappen beat team-mate Checo Pérez by just under six hundredths of a second to take pole for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix as Red Bull Racing locked out the front row in Suzuka. Lando Norris qualified third for McLaren ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
“It was quite close at the end,” said Max afterwards. “This track is very sensitive with tyres, with the tarmac being really aggressive. And when you really want to go to the limit, it doesn’t always work out. But nevertheless, the most important thing is to be on pole, so yeah, overall a very good day and a good starting position for tomorrow.”
Pérez agreed, adding: “It was close today, really close with Max. It felt like a good lap. It was quite tricky out there, actually. Especially closing out the laps it was quite easy to lose a couple of tenths into the last section, into the chicane, So we hooked it in all together, but unfortunately it was just not enough.”
At the start of Q1 Verstappen was quickly into the groove and the Dutchman took top spot with a lap of 1:28.866, more than four tenths clear of Pérez. The Mexican driver was then bounced down to third place by Alonso, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri slotted into fourth place ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, the second McLaren of Lando Norris and the twin Mercedes cars of George Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
The top eight drivers elected to stay in their garages for the final runs and in the closing moments of the 18-minute session Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc vaulted from 10th to fourth, 0.035s behind Pérez who held onto third. Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas also improved to take P8 ahead of Hamilton as RB’s Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda climbed up to separate Hamilton from team-mate Russell, though the latter was placed under investigation for a potential unsafe release.
There was no place in the second session for Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was ruled out in P16 ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Magnussen, Williams’ Logan Sargeant and P20 man Zhou Guanyu of Kick Sauber.
Verstappen again seized control early in Q2. The Dutchman posted a lap of 1:28.740 to take P1 ahead of Pérez, who put in a strong opener to sit just 0.012s behind his team-mate in P2. And as the remainder of the field completed their opening runs the Red Bull pair held on to the top two spots. Norris got closest, 0.200s off Verstappen, with the McLaren driver followed by Alonso, Sainz, Piastri and Leclerc.
So strong were the leaders’ times that the top six chose to sit out the final runs and this time it was Mercedes who rose from the midfield to secure a spot in the following session. Hamilton jumped to third, 0.147s behind Pérez, while Russell went through in P7 behind Norris, Alonso and Sainz.
Tsunoda also put in a good lap to claim a Q3 berth for RB. The Japanese driver’s final lap of 1:29.417 was good enough for P10 behind Leclerc. It meant that Tsunoda’s RB team-mate Daniel Ricciardo missed out on the top-10 shootout by just 0.055s and the Australian exited in P11 along with Haas’s Nico Hülkenberg, Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, Williams’ Alex Albon and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
At the start of Q3, Hamilton was the first to post a time, a 1:18.887, but Verstappen breezed past that by six tenths of a second to stop the clock at 1:28.240 as Pérez took P2, 0.365s behind his team-mate. Norris then split the Red Bull drivers, taking second place a tenth clear of Pérez. Sainz ended the first runs in fourth ahead of Piastri and Hamilton.
There was no stopping the Red Bull pair in the final laps. Pérez was first across the line and the Mexican improved by almost four tenths of a second to seal his first front-row start since last year’s Belgian Grand Prix.
Verstappen also improved and though his final lap gain was smaller than his team-mate’s, the champion’s 1:28.197 was enough to seal his 36th career pole position and to extend a run of pole that now stretches back to last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Behind the top two, Lando Norris took P3 for McLaren, with Sainz set to start at the back of row two ahead of Alonso, Piastri, Hamilton and Leclerc. Russell qualified ninth, while Tsunodo will start from P10 for RB.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:28.197 – –
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1:28.263 0.066
3 Lando Norris McLaren 1:28.489 0.292
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:28.682 0.485
5 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:28.686 0.489
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:28.760 0.563
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:28.766 0.569
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:28.786 0.589
9 George Russell Mercedes 1:29.008 0.811
10 Yuki Tsunoda RB 1:29.413 1.216
11 Daniel Ricciardo RB 1:29.472 1.275
12 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 1:29.494 1.297
13 Valtteri Bottas Sauber 1:29.593 1.396
14 Alexander Albon Williams 1:29.714 1.517
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:29.816 1.619
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:30.024 1.827
17 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:30.119 1.922
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:30.131 1.934
19 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:30.139 1.942
20 Zhou Guanyu Sauber 1:30.143 1.946 -
Carlos Sainz leads Ferrari 1-2 in Australia: Max logs a rare DNF
Albert Park (Melbourne), 24 March 2024: Carlos Sainz claimed an emotional first victory of the season at the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, coming back from illness to lead a Ferrari 1-2 finish as Charles Leclerc took second place, with Lando Norris third for McLaren on an afternoon on which championship leader Max Verstappen failed to finish.
Just two weeks ago, Sainz was forced to miss the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when he had to undergo surgery to remove his appendix, but in Melbourne a sensational recovery to victory was sealed within a few laps of the start.
When the lights went, pole position man Verstappen got away well ahead of front row starter Sainz and took the lead into Turn 1 with Norris third ahead Norri. By the end of lap one the Dutchman was almost out of DRS range of the lead Ferrari and it looked like the three-time champion was settling into his customary dominance.
However, in Turn 7, Verstappen suddenly slid wide and though he recovered Sainz was able to use the following DRS zone to power past the Dutchman and steal the lead.
Verstappen was quickly on the radio telling his team his car felt “loose”, but his issues escalated moments later when smoke began to pour from the rear right of his car.
With his brakes on fire, Verstappen was forced to slow and though he managed to limp back to the pits, it was clear his race was over – the first time the Red Bull driver has failed to finish since the same event in 2022.
Released into clean air, Sainz now began to pull out a gap and by lap 7 he was two-seconds clear of Norris and Leclerc. The Spaniard was then able to manage his tyres through the opening stint and the first round of pit stops.
Behind him Norris was being put under pressure by Leclerc, but the Ferrari driver dived to the pits at the end of lap nine giving the McLaren driver brief respite. Norris tried to go longer on his starting Medium tyres but Leclerc’s undercut worked well and when Norris pitted he’d not only been bypassed by Leclerc but also by his team-mate Oscar Piastri, who had also stopped for new tyres. Then Sainz pitted at the end of lap 16 and that
Bumped Hard-tyre starter Fernando Alonso into the lead, but within seconds, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton suddenly slowed and pulled over at the side of the track, his race ended by a power unit failure. The VSC was deployed and Alonso took advantage, pitting for Medium tyres, and gaining time as the field slowed around him.
That put Sainz back in the lead, with Leclerc in P2 ahead of Piastri and Norris. Alonso dropped to fifth place after his tyre change, ahead of Sergio Pérez who was gaining ground on fresh Hard tyres. On lap 27 the Mexican dispatched Alonso with ease, powering past the Aston Martin driver under DRS on the run to Turn 9.
At half distance, Sainz was six seconds clear of Leclerc who had dropped out of his team-mate’s dirty air. With Norris on fresher tyres than his team-mate, McLaren switched its drivers, a swap that left Pérez in P5, 11 seconds off Piastri.
The final round of pit stops left the order at the top unchanged and as the final stint unfolded it became clear that the gaps were solidifying. While the top five order held to the flag, there was late drama behind them when, a lap from home, a tight battle for P6 between Alonso and Russell went wrong. Russell appeared to lose downforce behind the slower Alonso into Turn 6 and slid hard into the barriers on the left side of the track. Though Russell was unhurt, his wrecked Mercedes ended up on its side in the middle of the track.
A Virtual Safety Car slowed the pack through the final lap, leaving Sainz to score a remarkable win on his return from surgery, with Leclerc taking P2 to seal as Ferrari 1—2. Norris claimed the final podium place ahead of team-mate Piastri and Pérez. Alonso came home in sixth place but was placed under by the Steward for the incident with Russell, while Lance Stroll finished seventh in the second Aston. Yuki Tsunoda delivered a good result for RB with P8 and the final points places were taken by the Haas cars of Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.
“It’s not only the last two weeks. It’s the whole start to the year in general, how the year started with the news of the non-renewal,” said Sainz afterwards. “Then you get yourself fit. You get yourself ready for the start of the season, pushing flat out. And then you get to Bahrain. You do a good podium. You say, ‘OK, now the season is starting well and I can keep the momentum going’. And suddenly, boom, you’re missing a race in Jeddah and the operation. Long days in bed, not knowing if I was going to be back in time. Obviously, a lot of unknowns. Am I going to be back fit? Am I going to be back feeling still good with the car? And then suddenly you come back and win. So, yes, what I said on the radio: life is a roller coaster sometimes, but it can be really nice and good to you sometimes. Just letting it sink in and enjoying the moment.”
2024 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix – Race
1 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 58 1:20’26.843
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 58 1:20’29.209 2.366
3 Lando Norris McLaren 58 1:20’32.747 5.904
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren 58 1:21’02.613 35.770
5 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 1:21’23.152 56.309
6 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 58 1:21’47.835 1’20.992
7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 58 1:22’00.065 1’33.222
8 Yuki Tsunoda RB 58 1:22’02.444 1’35.601
9 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 58 1:22’11.396 1’44.553
10 Kevin Magnussen Haas 57 1:20’30.924 1 lap /4.081
11 Alexander Albon Williams 57 1:20’31.852 1 lap /5.009
12 Daniel Ricciardo RB 57 1:20’38.351 1 lap /11.508
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine 57 1:21’07.796 1 lap /40.953
14 Valtteri Bottas Sauber 57 1:21’09.169 1 lap /42.326
15 Zhou Guanyu Sauber 57 1:21’11.136 1 lap /44.293
16 Esteban Ocon Alpine 57 1:21’20.822 1 lap /53.979
17 George Russell Mercedes 56 1:18’04.734 Accident
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 15 21’18.426 Power Unit
Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 3 4’14.672 Brakes
Logan Sargeant Williams 0 – Withdrawn -
Max Verstappen takes pole in Melbourne: Sainz P2
Albert Park (Melbourne), 23 March 2024: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen took his third straight pole position of 2024 with a blistering final lap of Q3 that left him almost three tenths of a second clear of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with Sergio Pérez third in the second Red Bull.
Verstappen had struggled for car balance throughout practice sessions in Melbourne and even as he worked through the opening two sessions of qualifying the Dutchman was unhappy with the handling of his Red Bull RB20. But following tweaks made after Q2 the three-time champion found a sweet spot and powered clear of his rivals.
“So far this weekend it’s been a bit tough to find a good balance in the car,” he said after taking his 35th career pole position. “Even throughout qualifying, Q1, Q2, I didn’t really feel like fighting for pole. But then we made some little tickles on the car and that seemed to help me in Q3 to really push it to the limit. Both of my laps I felt quite happy with it. I mean, there are always things that you can improve, but overall, I am satisfied with the performance.”
Sainz’s front-row start represents a good result for the Spanish driver who is returning following surgery to last time out in Bahrain to remove his appendix.
“It’s been a tough couple of weeks, a lot of days in bed, waiting for this moment, to see if I could be here today,” he said. “To make it to this weekend and then obviously to put it on the front row after leading through qualifying, I was almost not believing it, especially after how tough it’s been. But very happy to be here, very happy to be challenging the Red Bulls this weekend.”
Sainz led the way in Q1, setting a lap of 1:16.731, ahead of Ferrari Pérez who took P2 thanks to a lap of 1:16.805. Verstappen took third place just 0.014 behind his team-mate. The Dutchman wasn’t happy with his RB20 however, complaining about understeer.
Eliminated at the end of Q1 were Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg in P16 ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. RB’s Daniel Ricciardo was also dumped out of the session when he plummeted from P10 to P18 after his final lap was deleted for overstepping track limits in Turn 5. Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu was slowest in the session and exited in P19.
At the start of Q2 it was Verstappen, on fresh tyres, who made the most of the first runs, the champion taking P1 with a lap of 1:16.387 that put him little over two tenths ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Sainz and Leclerc, on used tyres, took third and fourth places, ahead the second McLaren of Lando Norris.
With fresh Soft tyres on board, Sainz then moved ahead, taking top spot with a lap of 1:16.189. 0.198s ahead of Verstappen, who stayed in the garage for the final laps. That gave Leclerc an opportunity and in the final moments the Monegasque driver posted a lap of 1:16.304 to bump Verstappen down to third.
There was no place in the top-10 shootout for Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton who exited in P11 ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
With Sainz in charge through the opening two segments and with Leclerc also quick, it looked like Ferrari had the upper hand, but in the minutes before the green lights were lit to start the top-10 shootout, whatever adjustments Verstappen’s team made to his car paid off and in the opening runs of Q3, the Dutchman stamped new authority on the session as he took provisional pole ahead of Sainz and Leclerc.
And he tightened his grip on pole with his final flying lap. The Dutchman ended the session as the only driver to dip below 1m16s and his time of 1:15.915 was good enough to beat Sainz by 0.270s with Pérez a further nine hundredths of a second back in third.
Fourth place went to Norris, but Leclerc slumped to fifth after a mistake on his final flyer forced him to abandon his bid for pole. Piastri will start sixth ahead of Russell and Tsunoda, with the Astons of Alonso and Stroll in ninth and tenth.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:15.915 – –
2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:16.185 0.270
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 1:16.274 0.359
4 Lando Norris McLaren 1:16.315 0.400
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:16.435 0.520
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:16.572 0.657
7 George Russell Mercedes 1:16.724 0.809
8 Yuki Tsunoda RB 1:16.788 0.873
9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:17.072 1.157
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:17.552 1.637
11 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:16.960 1.045
12 Alexander Albon Williams 1:17.167 1.252
13 Valtteri Bottas Sauber 1:17.340 1.425
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:17.427 1.512
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:17.697 1.782
16 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 1:17.976 2.061
17 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:17.982 2.067
18 Daniel Ricciardo RB 1:18.085 2.170
19 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber 1:18.188 2.273
