Max Verstappen will be searching for his second consecutive win in Melbourne at this afternoon’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver is on pole at Albert Park but will be tested by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who joins him on the front row.
As far as the local drivers go, Oscar Piastri will start from P5 for McLaren, while Daniel Ricciardo finds himself back in P18.
The Sporting News is following the F1 Australian Grand Prix live, providing updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.
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Updated every five laps
1. Verstappen (Red Bull), 2. Sainz (Ferrari), 3. Norris (McLaren), 4. Leclerc (Ferrari), 5. Piastri (McLaren), 6. Perez (Red Bull), 7. Russell (Mercedes), 8. Tsunoda (RB), 9. Stroll (Aston Martin), 10. Alonso (Aston Martin)
11. Hamilton (Mercedes), 12. Albon (Williams), 13. Bottas (Stake), 14. Magnussen (Haas), 15. Ocon (Alpine), 16. Hulkenberg (Haas), 17. Gasly (Alpine), 18. Ricciardo (RB), 19. Zhou (Stake)
MORE: F1 2024 standings
2 hours to lights out: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News‘ live coverage of the F1 Australian Grand Prix. It’s race day in Melbourne, and Albert Park is buzzing with anticipation.
It was a clean but exciting qualifying session in Melbourne on Saturday.
Max Verstappen posted a blistering 1:15.915 in Q3 and earned the right to start from pole position.
The Red Bull star had been jostling with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz throughout the final session but Verstappen found the time when it mattered, ahead of Sainz in second and Sergio Perez in third.
Perez, however, was handed a three-spot grid penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg.
This means local hope Oscar Piastri will start from fifth, with his teammate Lando Norris in third in a positive result for McLaren.
In a minor shock, Lewis Hamilton – who has started on pole eight times in Melbourne – was dropped right at the death of Q2 after a shuffle of places in the final few seconds. He’ll start P11 on race day.
At the back of the grid, Aussie fan favourite Daniel Ricciardo will start from P18 after he was eliminated in Q1.
The Western Australian posted a time that was good enough for P10 right at the end of the session but was found to have breached track limits, seeing him drop out.
