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Leclerc on Australian F1 GP pole with Verstappen second and Hamilton fifth
Ferrari driver produces exceptional lap at Albert ParkMcLaren’s Norris fourth but Mercedes struggle for pace again
Charles Leclerc claimed pole position for the Australian Grand Prix with an exceptional lap for Ferrari in Melbourne to beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen into second place. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez was in third, with McLaren’s Lando Noris taking an excellent fourth place. Mercedes continued to struggle with Lewis Hamilton in fifth and George Russell in sixth at a circuit where they have claimed pole for the last six consecutive meetings. It was a result they would take, however, having looked off the pace all weekend.
Leclerc put in a superlative lap at Albert Park in what is a welcome return to Australia, with the meeting having not been held here for the past two years because of the pandemic. On his first hot runs in Q3 Leclerc, who has looked in fine form all weekend, set the pace with a 1min 18.239sec time but it was only one tenth up on Pérez, who had been very competitive throughout qualifying. Verstappen had also looked strong but for a small lockup that cost him time on what was a formidable lap, one thousandth off Pérez. The session was stopped when Fernando Alonso crashed out at turn 11 after a hydraulic failure on his Alpine. He will start from 10th place.
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