F1 Australian Grand Prix qualifying results

In a few hours, the lap times will count for real.

Until this point, the Formula 1 season has been marked by lap times that are to be taken with a grain of salt. Between pre-season testing times, and a few hours of practice, everything we have seen from the 11 teams carries an air of uncertainity.

But Saturday brings the first qualifying hour of the new year, at the Australian Grand Prix.

And nobody knows quite what to expect.

Ferrari opened on the front foot in the first hour of practice, with Charles Leclerc leading Lewis Hamilton in a one-two result for the Scuderia. McLaren responded in the second hour of practice as hometown hero Oscar Piastri edged out the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

But there was Ferrari lurking, as Leclerc was fourth in FP2, followed by Hamilton in fifth.

The third and final hour of practice, however, might have given us our clearest look at the pecking order at the very end of the session. That’s when Russell laid down a blistering lap of 1:19.053, which put him more than a half-second clear of both Hamilton and Leclerc at the top of the timing sheet.

“That is rocketship territory,” said Alex Jacques on the F1 broadcast.

Entering the year, Mercedes and Russell were pegged as the favorites, and right at the end of practice, we saw our clearest evidence why.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of the first two hours of practice? Unreliability from several teams. Problems persisted at Aston Martin on Friday, as Fernando Alonso missed FP1 while teammate Lance Stroll managed to complete just three laps during the first hour of practice. Both drivers took to the track for the second hour of practice, but the duo was well off the pace.

They were not alone, as Arvid Lindblad at Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, Sergio Pérez at Cadillac, and the Williams pair of Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz Jr. at Williams all dealt with issues during the day Friday. Even the defending champions had their share of problems, as the McLaren duo of Piastri and Drivers’ Champion Lando Norris dealt with a loss of power, and a gearbox issue, respectively.

As to what to expect during qualifying, that is anyone’s guess. We do know the format has changed slightly, given the presence of a new team in Cadillac and two additional drivers in Pérez and Valtteri Bottas. Six drivers will be eliminated at the end of Q1, and six more will be eliminated at the end of Q2, leading to a ten-driver shootout for pole position in Q3.

In addition, Q3 has been extended by one minute, and the break between Q2 and Q3 has been shortened by one minute.

We’ll be following it all starting at midnight on Friday night/Saturday morning, so check back early and often!

Australian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Here is the provisional starting grid for the Australian Grand Prix, which will be filled in as qualifying unfolds:

Here is how the qualifying hour unfolded.

What happened in Q1 at the Australian GP?