2024 F1 Australian GP qualifying results: Verstappen takes pole

Verstappen will start ahead of Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez 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 grid: Verstappen on pole from Sainz Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay  1  1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'15.915   2  55 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1'16.185 0.270 3  11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'16.274 0.359 4  4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'16.315 0.400 5  16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'16.435 0.520 6  81 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1'16.572 0.657 7  63 George Russell Mercedes 1'16.724 0.809 8  22 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1'16.788 0.873 9  18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'17.072 1.157 10  14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'17.552 1.637 11  44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'16.960 1.045 12  23 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1'17.167 1.252 13  77 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1'17.340 1.425 14  20 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1'17.427 1.512 15  31 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'17.697 1.782 16  27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'17.976 2.061 17  10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1'17.982 2.067 18  3 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1'18.085 2.170 19  24 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1'18.188 2.273 What happened in Australian Grand Prix Q1? 

Sainz set the pace in the first part of qualifying, leading Red Bull duo Perez and Verstappen on hard tyres.

Falling at the first hurdle were Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Daniel Ricciardo (RB) and Zhou Guanyu (Sauber). Logan Sargeant didn't take part in qualifying, with Alex Albon taking over his car after a crash on Friday morning damaged his chassis.

Australian GP Q1 results: Sainz fastest from Perez  What happened in Australian Grand Prix Q2? 

Ferrrari remained quickest in Q2, with Sainz again topping the charts and Leclerc moving up to second. Verstappen was two tenths off the pace in third, as Red Bull continued to lag behind on medium tyres.

Knocked out at this point were Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Alex Albon (Williams), Valtteri Bottas (Sauber), Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine).

Australian GP Q2 results: Sainz fastest from Leclerc What happened in Australian Grand Prix Q3? 

On his first run, Verstappen set a benchmark of 1m16.048s to put Red Bull on top and reverse the trend seen in practice and first two legs of qualifying. Sainz held second place, three tenths down on Verstappen.

As the second runs began, Verstappen improved to a 1m15.915s, granting him a third consecutive pole of 2024. Sainz couldn't even break the 1m16s barrier as he ended up second, while Perez showed vastly improved form to take third.

Leclerc was classifed fifth, behind the top McLaren on Lando Norris.