Lando Norris took pole position for the Australian Grand Prix, the season-opener, after pulling off some very nifty work to put himself ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri on the front row of the grid for a McLaren front-row lock-out, MySportDab Reports.
On a blistering hot afternoon at Albert Park, Norris scored a best time of 1:15.096 which was just 0.084 seconds faster than Piastri in a thrilling finale to qualifying.
Defending champion Max Verstappen placed third for the Red Bull team, and George Russell placed fourth for Mercedes.
“It’s a great way to start the year,” said Norris. “I’m confident with the car’s pace, but we’ve never been in the wet, so it could be interesting tomorrow.”
And with rain expected on Sunday that could alter conditions, teams are bracing for the unexpected. Verstappen, chasing a fifth consecutive title, said he had struggled with handling problems in practice and was happy with his third place.
“Yesterday was difficult, so P3 is a good result,” said the Dutchman. “Wet or dry, this track can be tricky.
Fifth for Racing Bulls Yuki Tsunoda, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon. Ferrari had a disappointing session, Charles Leclerc only seventh and Lewis Hamilton eighth. The seven-time world champion also spun in Q2 and was almost nine-tenths off the pace.
“Didn’t think it would be that far off,” admitted Hamilton. “Tomorrow is going to be difficult, especially if it rains.”
In tenth were Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls).
Further back on the grid, Haas rookie Oliver Bearman left the track when a gearbox failure struck on his out-lap forcing him to miss a time on the board, similarly with Red Bull’s Liam Lawson who was sent out early in Q1 but did not set a time after he too lost final practice due to a power unit issue.
But with changing weather in the forecast, McLaren’s front-row stranglehold will be challenged in what should be a dramatic race on Sunday.
