The new era of Formula 1 began in the most dramatic way possible. After months of speculation and hours of testing, the first qualifying of the season in Melbourne showed who did the best job under the new technical rules. The answer is clear: Mercedes. George Russell confirmed his status as the favorite and won the pole position for the Australian Grand Prix with a dominant performance, and the complete dominance of the Silver Arrows was rounded off by debutant Kimi Antonelli in second place. However, the qualifications were also marked by an incredible incident in which four-time world champion Max Verstappen ended up in the wall in the first round.
Drama from the first minute: Verstappen’s shock and problems for the favourites
The first part of the qualifications (Q1) brought a real shock to the entire F1 world. Max Verstappen, on his first fast lap, lost control of the car while braking for the first corner. His Red Bull spun and crashed into the guardrail, causing a red flag and the session to end. “The rear axle just locked up. Fantastic,” said the frustrated Dutchman ironically over the team radio. This ended his qualifications before they even started, so he will start tomorrow’s race only from the 20th position. However, he was not the only great victim. Due to technical problems, Carlos Sainz in Williams and Lance Stroll in Aston Martin did not even go to the track, while Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas also dropped out in Q1, confirming that many teams are still struggling with the reliability of the new cars.
Complete dominance of the Silver Arrows and a bizarre mistake
As qualifying progressed, it became clear that Mercedes had brought a superior package to Australia. George Russell was the fastest in all three segments, and in the decisive round (Q3) he drove a lap of 1:18.518, leaving teammate Antonelli almost three tenths of a second behind him. However, it was not without drama for Mercedes either. Q3 was briefly interrupted by a red flag due to a bizarre error: the team let Antonelli out of the pits with cooling equipment which then fell onto the track. Lando Norris bumped into one of the parts, but fortunately without major damage. Among the heroes of the day is certainly Isack Hadjar, who won a great third place in his debut for Red Bull, while Racing Bulls drivers Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad also made it into the top ten. Audio’s Gabriel Bortoleto entered Q3, but due to a technical failure at the end of Q2 he was unable to set a time in the finish.
Starting order for the Australian Grand Prix:
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
- Oliver Bearman (Haas)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
- Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Where to watch the race?
Formula 1 fans in Croatia will be able to follow the first race of the season live on the main RTL channel. The special studio show “Formula on RTL” with presenter Filip Brkić and commentators Ivan Blažička and Neven Novak starts early Sunday morning at 04:00, while the race starts at 05:00.
For those who miss the live broadcast, a recording of the race and show will be available the same afternoon from 1:15 p.m.