Liam Lawson in action during qualifying at the Australian GP.
Photo: photosport
Kiwi Liam Lawson has qualified eighth on the grid for the season-opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, as Mercedes dominated qualifying in Melbourne.
Lawson completed a solid build-up for Sunday’s opening race of the year and will start one place in front of Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad, the 18-year-old Briton on debut.
Mercedes will share the front row, with George Russell clocking the fastest time in qualifying, ahead of Kimi Antonelli.
Earlier, four-time world champion Max Verstappen crashed out and he’ll start at the back of the grid for Red Bull.
Briton Russell lapped the Albert Park circuit in 1m 18.518s 0.293s, ahead of Italian Antonelli, who came back from a huge crash in final practice earlier Saturday.
George Russell wins pole position at the Australian Grand Prix.
Photo: photosport
It was Mercedes’ first pole in Melbourne, since Lewis Hamilton’s in 2019.
“It was a great day, we knew there was a lot of potential in the car,” Russell said. “It really came alive this afternoon.
“Also really happy that Kimi’s here… All in all a pretty good day.”
Antonelli faces a nervous wait for his position to be confirmed, after his patched-up car dropped cooling-fan parts at the start of Q3 and Norris ran over one, sending debris flying and triggering a red flag.
Stewards are investigating the incident.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar will start third on the grid for the race at 5pm Sunday NZT, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fourth.
Home racer Oscar Piastri and defending champion Lando Norris were fifth and sixth for McLaren.
“It’s been a very, very stressful day, but the guys today were the heroes, to put the car back on the track,” said Antonelli of his crash.
The new chassis and power unit changes have meant a steep learning curve for drivers, putting a greater onus on managing power deployment and regeneration.
Verstappen came unstuck in the first session of qualifying, when he locked up on turn one of his first flying lap, skidded over gravel and smashed into the barrier.
The Dutchman swore over the team radio, before exiting the car unscathed.
“The car just locked on the rear axles, fantastic,” said the Dutchman, runner-up in last year’s championship.
Verstappen will start at the back of the grid or in pitlane, depending on the repair work.
Max Verstappen crashes out during Australian GP qualifying.
Photo: AFP
Aston Martin’s twice world champion Fernando Alonso was eliminated in Q1, along with both the new Cadillac team drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.
Alonso’s teammate, Lance Stroll, was unable to take part in Q1, with Aston Martin running out of time to rebuild his car, following morning repairs.
Williams driver Carlos Sainz also missed qualifying.
Lawson promising
Lawson’s best lap time of 1m 19.994s was just over a second ahead of Lindblad, who has made an encouraging start to his F1 career.
Kiwi Liam Lawson.
Photo: AFP
The Kiwi has improved in the space of two days, after finishing 13th fastest in each of the first two practice sessions on Saturday, then leaping up to ninth fastest in Sunday’s third and final session.
Lawson will hope to come away with happier memories at Melbourne than a year ago, when he failed to finish for Red Bull and was demoted by the team a few weeks later.
– Reuters/RNZ