F1: Mercedes Recover To Qualify 2-3 As Verstappen Grabs Pole For The Australian GP

Max Verstappen secured an unsurprising pole position in the qualifying for the Australian GP, making it 2 pole positions in 3 races for the Dutchman. However, the qualifying down under was anything but unsurprising, as there were many shuffle ups in the pack. Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez had a troublesome Practice 3, where he struggled with the balance of the car. Perez went off the track multiple times in Practice 3. The trend continued for the Mexican into qualifying as he locked up his front right tyre and understeered straight into a gravel trap on his first flying lap, rendering him P20 for tomorrow's race. 

While Red Bull will have mixed feelings after the qualifying as their 2 cars sandwich the entire grid, the same isn’t true for Mercedes, as they had an incredible turnaround in form. George Russel snatched the second front row spot from his teammate, as Lewis Hamilton did enough to beat the rest of the field and finish P3. Alonso ran on the front row spots for a while in Q3, but in the end was pipped by the Mercedes drivers, ending up in P4. 

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc could only manage P5 & P7 respectively for Ferrari, as Aston’s Stroll qualified 6th. Alex Albon impressed in his Williams as he qualified best of the rest in P8. Pierre Gasly qualified P9 after Alpine had a strong showing in the practice sessions, with Nico Hulkenberg in P10.

With the two Mercedes cars hot at the heels, it will be interesting to see how Max Verstappen fends them off at the start of the race. However, seeing the race pace of the RB19, it would be hard to imagine Verstappen not winning the race. Perez’s charge from the back would also be dramatic considering the pace delta with other cars, and Alonso would definitely give the top 3 a run for their money, as he will aim to grab his 3rd podium in a row. 

2023 Formula 1 Australian GP Qualifying Results: