“Finally, the car looks dialed in when it matters most.”
Throughout the first two qualifying sessions, and after each first lap of Q3, it looked like today was going to be Ferrari’s day. The first lap of Q3 was set by Carlos Sainz Jr., almost as fast as teammate Charles Leclerc. This gave Ferrari an early 1-2 on the Q3 timesheets, with the tifosi dreaming of a front row lockout.
Someone forgot to tell Max Verstappen.
Because before Ferrari’s garage could truly celebrate, Alex Jacques made the above declaration as Verstappen crossed the line in a time that earned him provisional pole position. F1TV About Verstappen and his RB20.
Still, there was time left in Q3, with enough time for each driver to fit new soft tires and take one more charge on the grid. Will Ferrari be able to make a comeback and prevent Verstappen from claiming another pole position?
They couldn’t do that as Verstappen took his third consecutive pole position.
It was a session reminiscent of Monaco a season ago. In last season’s Monte Carlo road qualifying, where qualifying was all the ballgame, the field went all out against Verstappen, with Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon posing the biggest threats. But when that crucial lap was needed, Verstappen was able to do it and move to the front of the field.
“Well, today’s qualifying was a bit unexpected, but I’m very happy with Q3,” Verstappen told Alex Brundle after qualifying. “We managed to get there at the end, so I’m very happy.”
“[Ferrari] It looks very fast, so we’ll find out tomorrow,” Verstappen added.
His ability to respond to challenges and repel incoming threats is part of Verstappen’s greatness. Among his many great traits as a driver, that may be his greatest.
So, as fast as Ferrari is tomorrow, we can expect Verstappen to have yet another answer.
Here are the full qualifying results and some winners and losers from Saturday’s qualifying session in Melbourne.
Winner: Carlos Sainz Jr.
From the hospital row to the front row.
If you had said two weeks ago that Carlos Sainz Jr. would be in the front row in Melbourne, you would have been met with some skepticism.
But the pressure was put on Verstappen just weeks after he missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. Frankly, the fact that he’s back behind the wheel is a huge accomplishment in itself, but it’s great for Sainz as an athlete and competitor to have his car in the front row and truly challenge Verstappen for pole position. It’s an incredible testimony.
“I’m very happy to be here and very happy to challenge Red Bull this weekend,” Sainz told Alex Brundle after Q3. “I’m not going to lie, I’m not very comfortable during the drive, but I can manage.”
He certainly did that on Saturday.
Winner: Alexander Albon
Every time a F1 driver takes to the track, the pressure of the world is on them.
The pressure was probably even more intense for Alexander Albon in Melbourne on Saturday.
After a fiasco in Friday’s FP1, Albon was unable to take part in FP2 as Williams worked late into the night, breaking curfew to get the FW46 ready for Saturday. When that became impossible, team principal James Bolles was forced to make an impossible decision. Due to delays in the development of the FW46, the team did not have a backup chassis ready and only had one car at their disposal for the rest of the weekend.
Then Vores called. Even though Albon was the one who caused the accident, he was driving the one car they owned and trying to get Logan Sargent into spectator mode.
Much will be written and said in the coming weeks about the situation and what that decision means for the team and Sgt. But at the most basic level, it meant: Williams put the whole weekend on Albon’s shoulders.
Can he deliver?
At first glance in qualifying, it looked like he wasn’t. Albon went off the track early in Q1 in an attempt to take a bunker lap. However, that lap time was quickly deleted because it exceeded the track limit. However, by the time the chaos in Q1 had settled down, Albon had safely advanced to Q2 with a comfortable margin.
In Q2, he couldn’t find any more magic, and in Q3 he finished the session in 12th place, keeping his eyes on the outside. But considering the pressure he was under and the reaction if he didn’t deliver, this was an incredible performance.
It was a performance that rewarded the faith the team had shown in him.
Loser: Lewis Hamilton
The signs were there from the beginning of the week.
After the first two practice sessions, Lewis Hamilton expressed a lack of confidence in the W15. It seems that team principal Toto Wolff felt the same way, and he himself expressed his dissatisfaction with the car. The team admitted they were experimenting with Hamilton’s W15 set-up during FP2, which may have explained the frustration.
But given Hamilton’s shocking retirement in Q2, they may never have solved the problem. Hamilton will start Sunday in the points at a circuit where he has enjoyed 10 podiums in his F1 career and great success with lap pace.
There are also some worrying signs for the team.
After all, they were the 6th fastest car in Q2, alongside Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, Aston Martin and even Hiroki Tsunoda’s VCARB, ahead of both George Russell and Hamilton, who finished 10th in Q2. was. We don’t have the same one-lap pace as the W15 these days.
As we’ve seen, teams can recover to some extent in race pace. We saw it two weeks ago at the Saudi Grand Prix. However, this was not the session Hamilton and Mercedes had hoped for.
Winner: Esteban Ocon
Alpine’s driver advanced to Q2 for the first time this season.
Este Vesti’s advance to Q2 may not have the same impact as Esteban Ocon’s celebration on the podium in Monaco a season ago, but it is still a very good result for a team that has struggled from the start.
In fact, when Ocon was informed that he had crossed the line, he radioed to congratulate his team, even mentioning their “victory lap.”
However, his joy was short-lived as Ocon was the slowest car in Q2 and could only manage 15th place. Still, Ocon’s progress into Q2 is at least a sign of progress for the team, which saw both Alpines start from last place in the first two races of the season.
Loser: Daniel Ricciardo
It’s truly heartbreaking for a hometown hero.
In the final push lap of Q1, the Visa Cash App RB F1 Team driver put together a solid enough lap for Q2. However, Ricciardo crossed the white line at the exit of Turn 4, and his time was ultimately canceled due to exceeding the track limit.
He was unable to advance to Q2 and his day was over.
The mistake comes as Ricciardo is under increasing pressure at VCARB thanks to recent comments from Red Bull senior advisor Dr. Helmut Marko. Ricciardo himself called his return to Red Bull a “fairytale ending” amid mounting speculation about the driver transfer window and Sergio Perez’s future alongside Max Verstappen in the top team.
But in recent days, Marco has started to pay attention to Ricardo. noticed that “Ricardo will have to come up with something soon.”
Having his lap time removed and being eliminated in Q1 is not what Marco wanted.
Winner: Yuki Tsunoda
While there was frustration on one side of the VCARB garage, there was joy on the other.
Hiroki Tsunoda advanced to Q3 for the second consecutive race and ultimately passed the qualifying in 8th place. This gave Tsunoda a 3-0 advantage in qualifying against teammate Daniel Ricciardo.
Both drivers are looking to transfer to top teams next season, so it may be fair to say that Tsunoda has the advantage at this point.
Considering everything that unfolded at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, this could be the biggest surprise.
