Lando Norris takes the Australian GP qualifications. Strong pole position ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri, who in the race will certainly not give up easily at the idea of being able to win in front of his home crowd. Behind, despite the significant difficulties of his Red Bull, there is Verstappen. Bad for the Ferraris who do not go beyond eighth and seventh position.
Q1 ruthless: Antonelli and Lawson out. Norris leads qualifying
The 2025 Formula 1 World Championship kicks off with qualifying for the Australian GP, with the green flag at 6:00 Italian time. The first driver to set a time is Esteban Ocon, fresh from his new adventure with the Haas team. His teammate Olivier Bearman is being watched closely. The Englishman, after the accident in FP1 e FP3, has practically not yet lapped the Albert Park track, and it seems that his car is still suffering from gearbox problems. During the session, however, the lead was confirmed by McLaren by Lando Norris who, with seven minutes to go, is followed by Verstappen. Despite the difficulties of his Red Bull, the Dutchman is making the difference, while Liam Lawson is in serious difficulty, also being the protagonist of an excursion off the track between turns 3 and 4 and, subsequently, at 15.
During Q1, the two Williams confirmed their excellent form, with Sainz and Albon appearing in the top ten positions. Alonso also did well, with his Aston Martin, in ninth position. Meanwhile, the fight to avoid elimination was fierce, with Lewis Hamilton also forced to complete a lap with a new set of fresh tyres. At the end of the session, two surprises took centre stage: Lawson's Red Bull was out and Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes was in fifteenth position. The Italian, with damage to the floor of his car, was bumped from the last available place for Q2 by the Sauber of debutant Bortoleto. Hulkenberg, Ocon and Bearman completed the list of eliminated drivers, with the latter never taking to the track again.
Complicated Q2 for Ferrari. McLaren continues to assert itself
It will be tough to get a pass to the final heat, there are only 6 tenths of a second between first and seventeenth place. At the second green light of the day, Max Verstappen immediately takes to the track, setting a time three tenths lower than his pole position of last year. With ten minutes to go, however, Piastri and Norris are leading the standings, with the latter even setting his time on used tyres. The times are very tight, with the drivers trying to nibble away important thousandths around Albert Park, with Alonso and Sainz having been the protagonists of some mistakes exiting the fast esses between turns eleven and twelve.
With six minutes to go, the Ferrari. Leclerc remains in fifth position, three tenths behind Piastri, while Lewis Hamilton positions himself immediately behind him. The standard-bearers of the prancing horse seem to suffer a lot in the last sector, a section of the track in which they lose a lot of time compared to their direct rivals. While the sky of Melbourne is about to cloud over, the other drivers on the grid also try their last attempt to save themselves. Some, however, find themselves forced to slow down due to a flag caused by Hamilton himself, the victim of a spin on turn 13. Finally, at the end of the session, those eliminated are Hadjar, a few thousandths behind Gasly in tenth position, Alonso, Stroll, Doohan, who perhaps at the end of the lap was hindered by his teammate, and, closing the ranking, Bortoleto.
Q3 certifies McLaren's strength: first Norris and second Piastri
George Russell opens the first Q3 of the season, while the favorites for the final pole position remain the two papaya drivers. However, after the first classic carousel of attempts, it seems like a completely different qualifying compared to the previous sessions. Norris sees his time cancelled due to track limits, but it still wouldn't have been enough against the performances of Leclerc, Russell and Verstappen, with the world champion taking the lead after a good lap. Hamilton is in more difficulty, demonstrating that he still has to get to grips with his SF-25.
Piastri and Norris will therefore have to be perfect in the last attempt valid for the pole position. The Australian is the first to launch himself to oust Verstappen from the top of the standings. He succeeds, but only for a short time, because Norris is faster than him and takes the Pole Position. The difficulties for Ferrari continue with Leclerc and Hamilton, who finish the qualifying in seventh and eighth position. Great performance by Tsunoda who takes the fifth place, followed by the Williams of Albon. Russell fourth, while Gasly and Sainz close the top ten.
McLaren thus takes pole position with Lando Norris recording an excellent 1:15.096. The English team has not managed to put its wheels in front of everyone in the Australian qualifying since the 2012 season, precisely with Lewis Hamilton. However, special attention will be paid to Max Verstappen who, tomorrow with the rain, could make all his strength count and take the victory.
