McLaren Racing’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked out the front row for Sunday’s Formula One season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne’s Albert Park.
Lando Norris set the fastest time of 01:15.096s and speaking following the action he said:
“It’s the perfect way to start the year. A huge congratulations to the team, everyone at McLaren has done an amazing job to continue from where we were at the end of last season, with another front row lock out – but it’s only Quali, so we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. We know it’s going to be a tricky race tomorrow but we’ve got two cars in the best positions.
“I’m confident in the car’s pace, but we’ve also never run in the wet, and our competition is very strong. There will be many opportunities for everyone tomorrow, and we’re all going to be learning a lot – so let’s wait and see what happens.”
Oscar Piastri starts the race from second with the hometown hero setting a 01:15.180s and speaking following the action he said:
“It’s great to start the year on the front row. It’s brilliant to have both of us there, of course it may be one position further back than I would have liked, but it’s a good way to go into the first race of the year. Overall, I am happy with how Qualifying went and we’ve got solid pace in the car. We’ll just have to see how it all plays out with the weather tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.”
Andrea Stella, Team Principal of McLaren commented saying:
“A great effort by both drivers and a testament to the many men and women here at track and back in Woking who worked so hard over the winter to make a good car even stronger.
“Despite some tense moments, especially in the first run of Q3, both drivers maximised the potential of the car. There are certainly some cars that I think could have been much closer, and I don’t think the gaps we saw today in Quali are indicative of the field in general. Tomorrow’s forecast suggests it may be an eventful race, so we now focus on preparation for multiple scenarios we may face in the race.”
Max Verstappen lines up third just ahead of George Russell while Yuki Tsunoda had a great session as he starts the race from fifth place and speaking following the action he said:
“I didn’t expect us to have this result today, I definitely wasn’t expecting to be P5, I was more expecting to be in the top 10. I knew it would be a tight field, but the last lap was a pretty magical lap; I was able to put it all together. I got a little bit of help from Lando with a tow, so I’m appreciative of that. The lap time came a bit out of nowhere, but the car has been consistently good over the week. The team pushed really really hard, I’m surprised to be honest how much of a step up we’ve made since Abu Dhabi, you can tell from this result the hard work they’ve put in over the off season, so well done to them and the team at the factory. We know we’re going to have a bit of rain tomorrow, we’re prepared with the set-up of the car. I’m sure the car will perform well so I’m excited and confident, just have to stay focussed.”
The Atlassian Williams Racing Formula One Team had a fantastic day in Albert Park with Alex Albon starting the race from sixth and speaking following the action he said:
We were aiming for top ten, so P6 is fantastic and I’m very happy. We have a great car, easy to drive, predictable; it feels like a much more driveable car this year. It’s really tight out there and it’s going to be a dogfight in the midfield this year, but this is a great place for us to start. It also feels like Qualifying is not even the best bit of the car; where we’ve made the biggest improvement is the race pace. We’ve done some big things back at Grove. We have paid attention to this year, we are starting on the right weight and we are in a much healthier place than we were this time last year. When I look at where we were a year ago up to now, we’re in a completely different position. I’m very proud of the team today and there are good vibes. We’re expecting rain tomorrow and nobody has done a lap on the Intermediate or Wet tyre so let’s see what happens.
Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton locked out the fourth row just ahead of the Alpine F1 Team’s Pierre Gasly.
Carlos Sainz ended his first qualifying session with Atlassian Williams Racing in tenth place and speaking following the action he said:
First of all, I’m very happy for the entire team, for Alex and for myself. It’s my first Qualifying with Williams and we have achieved our main objective of getting into Q3 with both cars. The hard work that everyone has done during the winter has paid off with a great step forward and I’m proud of the team. On my side, I had a bit of a scrappy Qualifying to be honest. However, I’m not concerned. There are many things that I still need to understand from this car and I’m sure better laps will come soon! Tomorrow, under rain, I will also have to adapt quickly but I’m excited about the race. We will try to maximise every opportunity. This is only the beginning!
Isack Hadjar makes his Formula One debut from 11th place and speaking following the action he said:
“I’m quite happy today, and coming to this weekend, I’d have signed for this result in my first Qualifying in Formula One. I had a good feeling in Q1, and then in Q2, I lost a bit of lap time during my lap as I wasn’t as happy with the balance. I know where I lost time, and that’s why I’m a bit frustrated. Albert Park is a very particular circuit, but this performance from us as a team with also Yuki in P5 shows we worked hard after Bahrain Testing, making some steps forward and allowing us to have a better understanding of the car. Looking at tomorrow where rain is forecast, I’ve never driven in wet conditions with all the other cars around, only once alone in a TPC, so I can’t count on much experience, but instead it will be important to use the instinct and smartness.”
Hadjar starts the race just ahead of Aston Martin Aramaco Formula One Team’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Jack Doonan starts the race from 14th for Alpine and speaking following the action he said:
“A good day today and a positive Qualifying. We were unfortunate to be caught out by the yellow flag at the end of Q2 but these things happen and our pace looked strong before that. We need to focus on what we can control and when we had the possibilities we delivered. We made some changes between Free Practice 3 and Qualifying, which meant I felt more comfortable in the car straight away. A huge thank you to the team, both trackside and back at Enstone and Viry who worked hard to get us in the right place. Now our focus shifts to tomorrow. The goal will be to maximise the opportunities that present themselves, especially with whatever the weather may bring. We will need to position ourselves well strategically to get the best chance to progress up the field. I am looking forward to taking in the experience, making the most of our package and enjoying the rest of the weekend in front of the home crowd.”
Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto will make his Formula One debut from 15th place and speaking following his first qualifying session he said:
I’m feeling quite okay – I think we did a decent job as a team, maximising the learnings from the three practice sessions. Q1 went smoothly; we put everything together and made the cut. I think making it into Q2 in my first-ever qualifying is definitely not bad. I wanted to give it a shot at Q3 and pushed a little too hard on my lap – I still managed to keep the car on track, but it didn’t really make sense to try again. Still, I think we can be quite satisfied with the job done today. Looking ahead to tomorrow, there’s a high chance of rain: anything can happen in these conditions, especially on a circuit like this. With a clean race and no mistakes, I think we can achieve a decent result, so I am looking forward to it.”
Kimi Antonelli makes his debut from 16th and speaking following the action he said:
That was an unfortunate Qualifying session to start the season. As I came through turn six on my first push lap on the Soft tyre, there was some gravel on track and I ran slightly wide. It was not enough to really impact my lap time, but the car hit the exit kerb harder than I expected and I suffered some significant floor damage. I could feel the car bottoming on the straight and costing me a lot of performance. Without the damage, I am sure it would have been a very different story for us.
Starting P16 is of course not ideal. That is particularly true when you look at our pace in FP3 as I think we could have been challenging near the front of the grid. It is what it is though and now we look ahead to tomorrow. The forecast is for rain and that will hopefully present us with some opportunities. I’m looking forward to it and getting my first F1 race under my belt.
Nico Hulkenberg starts the race from 17th just ahead of Liam Lawson while the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman round out the order.