Leclerc goes on pole in Australia, Sainz in P9 – Formula 1 Australian GP Qualifying

Saturday’s Formula 1 Qualifying session saw yet more crashes as the cars battled to set the fasted time on the newly revamped Australian GP track.

Q1 – Latifi crashes again

Q1 was going hectic. With both the Redbulls setting the fastest times. The Ferraris were only second-fastest.
The session saw a massive collision between Canadians Latifi and Stroll.
Latifi let Stroll pass but the Williams tried to overtake the Aston Martin and the drivers touched the wheels thus causing a massive crash. The incident will be investigated by the Stewards.

A dramatic moment at the end of Q1 😱#AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/vx3TthAaUH

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 9, 2022

The accident got out a red flag and it even allowed Sebastian Vettel to get a run when the session started.
The session saw both cars of Aston Martin and Williams get eliminated. The HAAS of Kevin Magnussen joined them.
Following the session Team principal, Gunther Steiner said that the team will focus on having a decent race tomorrow and then looking to get back on track for the next race at Imola.
The drivers out at the end of Q1 were
Albon
Magnussen
Vettel
Latifi
Stroll

Q2 – Bottas fails to make it to Q3

Q2 saw Valtteri Bottas not make it to Q3 for the first time since he joined Mercedes in 2017.
Gasly failed and ended up getting knocked out at Q2.
The drivers also requested darker visors as the sun was blazing on the track and visibility was poor

VER: “Mate, I can’t see ****** with the sun, it’s unbelievable. Completely blinded!”

Several drivers have requested darker visors for Q3 as golden hour descends on the @ausgrandprix circuit 🌇#AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Yonpwg0TEH

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 9, 2022

The drivers out of Q2 were
Gasly
Bottas
Tsunoda
Zhou
Schumacher

Q3 – Alonso Crashes out

Alonso crashed into a corner. The session got red-flagged. The driver reported on the radio that he lost hydraulics and he could not change his gear. A shame as he looked to be enjoying himself out on track all weekend long.

Fernando Alonso crash in Q3. He was truly on a flyer before this and possibly a pole position? 🤔 Immediately after the crash Alonso told his team: “He told hydraulics” and “couldn’t change gears”. #F1 #AustralianGP pic.twitter.com/CeOfTMwiQy

— TrackedF1 (@tracked_f1) April 9, 2022

Charles Leclerc snatched pole Position in Australia. The Ferrari driver set a blistering lap as none of the other drivers could catch up with him.
Redbull drivers Verstappen and Perez completed the top 3. However Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz described his q3 session as a disaster. as the driver starts on P9 after a disappointing session. Lando Norris continued to impress everyone was the McLaren’s found their pace once again. He was in P4 ahead of Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Russsell pushed hard and came in P5 and P6. Hometown hero Daniel Riccardo managed to place his car in P 7.

Pole position #2 of 2022 for @Charles_Leclerc! ✌️#AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/rvhsAdaLoC

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 9, 2022

The final standing look like this