Max Verstappen has taken pole position for this weekend’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to claim top spot once again.
Ferrari had appeared to have the advantage through the opening two segments, but Verstappen hooked it up when it mattered in the RB20 to beat Sainz by 0.263s.
Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull and McLaren’s Lando Norris capitalised on Charles Leclerc abandoning his final effort to demote the Monegasque to fifth place.
Oscar Piastri will line-up sixth for his second home grand prix in F1, with George Russell seventh in the sole remaining Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton exited in Q2.
Yuki Tsunoda progressed through to Q3 for the second time this season and wound up eighth, taking advantage of minor mistakes from both Aston Martin drivers.
But home favourite Daniel Ricciardo also endured a miserable outing as he was eliminated in Q1 when he had his best lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
[motorsport_result id=’158051′]
