Leclerc Leads Australian GP Grid With Creeping Red Bull Duo as Hometown Hero Ricciardo Gets Hopeful Start

The fans are eager to witness an exciting race in Albert Park on Sunday. Fresh changes introduced to the track with corners extended with an aim to promote overtaking action will delight the fans, without a doubt. The qualifying on Saturday saw some wonderful F1 action with some unfortunate crashes. Charles Leclerc starts on the pole with Max Verstappen hot on his heels. They once again start on the front row and we cannot wait for the battle.

The top 10 on the grid had only five teams. Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren, and Alpine had two drivers each set a lap time in Q3. Many expect these teams to finish top 5 as the season progresses. Meanwhile, on the other end of the grid, Aston Martin and Williams continued to struggle as all the 4 cars were knocked out of Q1.

Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen to battle it out again?

Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen have set the benchmark this season. The Monegasque is currently 20 points ahead of Verstappen in the driver’s standings and will hope to extend the lead. He set the fastest time on Saturday and took home the honors. However, the job is only half done and with changes to the track this season, Verstappen will look to snatch the victory away from Leclerc.

Sergio Perez starts third on the grid with Lando Norris alongside him. Norris ended up P4 as McLaren seems to be back on track. Mercedes’ issues continued on Friday, but Lewis Hamilton’s last run in qualifying saw him take P5 and will share the row with his teammate George Russell in P6.

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Meanwhile, homeboy Daniel Ricciardo will be satisfied after his P7 finish in qualifying. The Australian fans will hope Ricciardo will endure a good race. Esteban Ocon ended up eighth in Alpine. However, the talking point of qualifying was Carlos Sainz’s P9 finish. The Spaniard was on course to match his teammate when Fernando Alonso crashed into the barriers which resulted in red flags.

After the session resumed, he struggled to make a mark and ended up P9. Meanwhile, Alonso did not take part in Q3 after the crash and will start tenth.

Valtteri Bottas eliminated in Q2 for the first time in a long time

On to the other side of the grid, Pierre Gasly was unfortunate to miss out on Q3. He will start in P11, with Valtteri Bottas in P12. The Finish got eliminated in Q2 after 102 consecutive Q3 qualifying sessions.

AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou ended up behind their teammates. Mick Schumacher completed the top 15 as he beat his teammate Kevin Magnussen for the first time, who finished P17. Alex Albon splits the Haas and will start 16th.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Latifi and Lance Stroll had a moment to forget in Q1. Latifi crashed into the barriers when he tried to overtake Stroll. The Williams was damaged and, as a result, both the drivers did not set a time. Stroll received a three-place grid penalty after the qualifying.

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However, it proved to be an advantage for Sebastian Vettel. The German suffered a crash in FP3 and did not take part in the qualifying session. But, the Aston Martin team fixed the car on time for one last lap, but he failed to utilize it and will start in P18.

The starting grid is exciting, to say the least. Who will come out on top in the Australian Grand Prix? Leave your thoughts in the comments.